Sunday 28 August 2016

What is the point?

Societies, universally, have rules that have developed throughout history. We appoint lawmakers and law keepers and have systems in place that are supposed to punish or rehabilitate those that choose not to abide by those laws. Without some sort of legal system we would be living in an anarchy and is such a dog eat dog world only the strongest would survive and evolution would kick into reverse.

When a six year old refuses to do as he is told without making a lot of fuss, and then declares that he doesn't like being told what to do by adults there is some cause for concern.  This is a symptom of the way that society at large is changing.  Laws, or rules it would seem are for other people.  This week we have seen a number of tragic drownings around the coast, some due to people choosing to ignore instructions regarding safety in tidal waters.  Go to any beach where there are instructions about where not to swim and you can be sure that there will be plenty who ignore this instructions.

Using a mobile phone while driving is of course dangerous. I need all of my attention on my phone just to make it work and cannot imagine driving whilst using it, but there are plenty who do. It is of course illegal and yet so many flout this law, imagining that they are in some way above it or maybe they believe that they have superpowers and are able to give enough attention to what is going on around them.

The attitude of the six year old is worrying. If he thinks that he can go through life ignoring instructions from adults then he is in for some hard knocks, and maybe that is what is missing these days. There seem to be no real deterrents, no punishments that mean anything. I was taught a valuable lesson when I first went into teaching, and that was, never threaten a child with anything that you do not intend to carry out. It would seem that there are plenty of threats and dest no follow through, and maybe that is why he refuses to do as he is told.

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