What a mixed up world of confused agendas and misplaced priorities.Brazilian President da Silva wants to ban spanking. How extensively he wants to apply the new rule, who knows? Hasn't the Brazilian gvernment got bigger fish to fry? Is this really such an issue for such an otherwise progressive and ordered society, given so many more serious issues.
I have friends who have taught in British public schools who report that the withdrawal of discipline has so seriously distorted normative behaviour that if a child swears at or threatens a teacher, benefits of doubt in any hearing will default to the child.
Last night my family debated the issues of abortion. We conceded that governments probably do have far bigger issues to deal with than to police a social deviation that many law enforcers cannot equate to crime and which is happening anyway, but often at great risk to mothers. I am a pro-lifer, but I concede that the issues are not black and white.
However, whilst I accept that governments must triage their agendas and balance priorities, such arguments make no sense when respected leaders can find the time to trivialise the massive issues facing the world by focusing limited resources at something like spanking, especially as there is a far better chance that a child will benefit compared with the very few who will be scarred or hurt by a bit of healthy and loving discipline. A great leveller in this debate was the case of a US dad who, having spanked his child, was threaten by a liberalist - to which the child responded, "what's her problem, Dad?"
We are really losing it somewhere.
(c) Peter Eleazar @ www.4u2live.net
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