Chapter 2

Peaceful Parenting

Introduction If the world is hell, it is because of childhood.The unhappiness, misery, pain and violence of the world have all been “explained” according to various theories, all designed to distract us from the central, core and highly personal issue.Socialists explain that the world is hell because of rampant economic and environmental exploitation – without ever asking why people end up so coldhearted that they can use and dispose of fellow human beings through the chilly physics of grim economic utility.Theologians explain that the world is hell because human beings are born sinful, and have to be beaten and terrorized into even a remote approximation of virtue.Educators explain that the world is hell because children are willful and disobedient, and have to be threatened and bullied into pursuing knowledge and accepting conformity.Antiracists explain that the world is hell because people mistrust and hate other ethnicities – without ever asking why people end up xenophobic, hateful and afraid.Feminists explain that the world is hell because men hate and fear women, and thus lust to bully and control them – without ever explaining why men might hate and fear women.Evolutionary biologists explain that the world is hell because mankind is an animal, with an animal’s lusts and passions and thirst for dominance. No one ever explains why science is possible for mankind – but not for any other species – but virtue is not.Every civil rights movement has striven to bring excluded groups into the moral center of society. Morals - both legal and social - that were set up to exclude various races, sexes and classes, have all been challenged and overthrown. The goal of the inclusion of all excluded groups into the core moral principles of society has been avidly pursued – and often achieved – to the betterment of all.Skepticism of artificiality has also been a central thrust of modern thought – avoid plastics, chemicals, pesticides and so on. Buy organic, live naturally, embrace the wisdom of your ancestors – massive communities pursue these goal with avid abandon.We have terms for sexism, racism, homophobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia, classism – the list these days is virtually endless. Fear and hatred of the “other,” it is said, leads to hateful language, violence, terrorism – war, even.For all our modern wisdom, one word remains conspicuously absent from our endless patrolling of language, exclusion and contempt.Where is the word “childism”?Why do we not even have a word for prejudice against children?“Ah,” you may say, “but society treasures its children, devotes endless energies to training and raising its children – it would make no more sense to have a word called ‘childism’ than it would to have a word called ‘loveism.’ We cannot be prejudiced against that which we love!”Interesting.It is certainly true that society claims to worship and love its children, and does devote endless energies into training and raising them. The children are our future, our heritage, our worlds, the purpose of our life and being, the foundation of our civilization – you name it!Children are loved by society, and therefore we would never need a word to describe societies prejudice against children.If you love chocolate, you are not prejudiced against chocolate.If you love your wife, by definition you cannot hate and exclude her.What are you talking about?Well, philosophy is all about skepticism – and the longer the claim has been going on, and the more widespread it is – the more philosophers are inclined to question it.The modern world is founded on skepticism of accepted wisdom.Science, technology, engineering, medicine – these are all founded on skepticism of formally accepted “absolute truths.”