Those two concepts shouldn’t really go together, but they sure do in Amerika.
On Countdown tonight, Keith Olbermann made that statement that research shows that, over the past ten years, twice as many Republicans have been involved in sex scandals as Democrats.
Yet, it’s the Republicans who supposedly are the advocates of “family values.” Right.
And during the EWTN mass today that my mother was watching, I catch the priest praising the Republicans for championing anti-abortion, anti-sex education and anti-homosexuality. So much for the separation of church and state.
I think about the people who have been brainwashed into believing that the priest speaks for god. If the priest says that Republicans are the good guys, well, then that’s who should get their votes.
And then there’s this website for the organization “Teen Mania,” which was founded by a man who “ran away from home at the age of 15 and became involved in drug and alcohol abuse before finding Jesus at the age of 16 ” and subsequently began a quest “to raise up an army of young people who would change the world.”
“Teen Mania seeks to rescue teens, ones who are caught in lives of despair and hopelessness, ” and, of course it does this by attracting them to embrace the doctrines of fundamentalist Christianity.
The statements and statistics on its homepage are very troubling; as I look at the world around me, I suspect that they are pretty accurate. There obviously are too many young people whose lives don’t give them anything substantial to hold onto. No wonder they gravitate toward such “cults.”
My question is, where are there other options being offered them, options that are as attractive to them but are not based in any kind of religious fundamentalism?
Aren’t schools supposed to be the places where kids can go to get excited about what life has to offer them? Aren’t schools supposed to be the places where kids can learn to feel good about who they are and what they are capable of accomplishing? Aren’t schools supposed to be the places where the leaders (teachers and administrators) harness all of that young and vibrant energy toward creating a humane, nurturing, and supportive environment?
Ya think??
[picture a fat, balding white man in a classic robber baron uniform of top hat, tails, spats, monacle, and silver-headed cane, nearly dropping his cigar in shock:]
“b-b-but…..that would be SEW-SEE-ALL-IZZUMM!!!!!”
Influences: parents? family? How can they be left out of the equation? Schools have only some time with kids in a structured atmosphere of subject matter. The person, I think, needs mainly to develop in the home atmosphere of presence (when it’s there).
What facts do you have to call them a “cult”? Do you even know the definition of a cult? Teen Mania does not fall into that category. Of course it is easy to throw stones when you are uneducated on the facts.
I think that the psychotherapist’s comment about “cults” on my post below was in reference to Transcendental Meditation and not Teen Mania. However, he does define cults in his materials. Look at TM-Free Blog, TranceNet.net, or his counseling site, KnappFamilyCounseling.com.
I never called Teen Mania a cult. What I asked was where are the non-religious-brainwashing organizations that can give troubled kids the same kind of help and support that Teen Mania does.
And, I agree with myrln that parents should be the ones to give their kids a sense of sef-worth and human ethics. But if they don’t, then schools, “in loco parentis,” should be the place where that kind of nurturing and encouragement, and character strengthening takes place WITHOUT the religious context.
And, Keith, I am not uneducated about the facts. Perhaps you don’t know how to read for accuracy.
Excellent! I’m so glad I bumbled into your blog. Yes and YES! May I add you to my Elderblogger link list?