I don't know where the line is, but it's almost like the "religion" of consumerism is pushed on my kids at a time when I'm trying to teach them the opposite.
'Free Market' is the cultural force that binds the western world together. It is considered in exactly the same way as a religion, as we see when bail-outs are called for and we can't even question that the Market isn't some kind of benevloent diety that will protect us all (Thanks Stephen Cobert!) I wish I could call for some radicle new vision of a workable economy/social base, but I don't have one. So call me a 'Regulated Market' girl.
So I say that we've seen that unfettered greed isn't good for the economy, let's not let it run wild with the children. To me, one of the worst of all is the 'R' rated movies when the internal memos were shown that the Marketer were aiming them at the 13-16 year old crowd.
I would love Adam Smith and Ayn Rand to be right, but life experience just hasn't shown it.
I did hear that social Darwinism supported the old 'Robber Barons' in that powerful men were expected to be 'immoral' as part of their strength. Perhaps we can keep the baby and throw out that bathwater, yes? Nowadays when we look back at our ancestors, we figure that the Gatherers contributed a larger % of the calories than the Hunters anyway. I remember in college that Norman Mailer was visiting our 'Women and Religion' class, and talking about how men have to be 'animals' because of their ancient roles as hunters. I remember saying- maybe that's true, but maybe that never happened like that, and maybe men are individuals who are free to act a variety of ways? NM had this wonderful blank quiet expression of a Hard Drive reseting itself. No Smoke though.
I don't think that this is OT - as long as 'survival of the most capitalistically fit' is the main cultural reference, then other parents are going to want our kids to get the education they need, eh? We want to be a society that allows everyone their own religious privacy, but I do think we need some kind of cultural touchstone that gives a context to our child-raising. Pop psychology has volunteered, but what is really winning the race is Consumerism. I'd love to hear some alternative suggestions.
Love and More Love,
Grinity
