Spare the Rod

by ferncanyonman

Spare the Rod

Here I go sounding like my father but “what has happened to the youth of today”. I’m not yet saying “bring back the death penalty” but………… The gruesome details of how two teenaged girls’ killed their “friend” by strangling her with an electrical cord. The completed suicide pact of another two young girls and a massacre of over 30 people at university in America have been well documented in the press. Drugs, psychosis and depression have been thrown into the ring as a possible reason for the abhorrent behaviour in the cases of murder and the seemingly senseless acts of suicide.

Has society helped to create a rudderless ship for youth and set it a drift on the sea of life? Void of direction, destination unknown with no thoughts of the consequence of hitting hidden reefs. Capitalism with its roots firmly planted in a democratic society and its perpetual need for growth and profit has helped to erode the family unit. Liberal views have permeated the courts and infiltrated the school system making punishment redundant. Role models leading lives virtually unattainable to many, riddled with drugs, depression and gross excess. Politicians steeped in sobriety and hypocrisy.

Recent reports promoting a move to stop smacking is a further slide towards the point of no return. Parents soon face the reality of being charged with deprivation of liberty for sending a child to their room. Fear has a role to play in prevention of the heinous. With out fear people would be stepping off curbs in front of buses, patting rabid dogs and jumping from tall buildings. The alternative to smacking is perhaps a head bending mind game. Is a mental smack less or more damaging than a physical one?

Smacking with in reason offers a boundary, instills a sense of consequence and can aid in offering direction. It is important to note that there is a distinct difference between a smack and a beating. Smacking can show a child they are loved and their life is cherished. “He who spareth the rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him correcteth him betimes.” Oh my God I am my father!