Re: Controversial form of discipline
Folks, there is a simple remedy to all of this. It worked like a charm for 1,300-years. And, in all that time, juvenile delinquency wasn’t a problem worth mentioning. Teenage thugs didn’t roam city streets carrying guns and killing people over drugs, money, items of jewelry, brand name clothing and shoes. Kids didn’t terrorize seniors. They didn’t shoplift merchants into bankruptcy. There were no truancy problems. And, you’d have been hard-pressed to find even ONE kid handing out any parental grief.
Literacy rates and graduation rates were sky high. Kids simply were not disrespectful of paternal authority. Childhood backtalk was literally non-existent.
Then, along came the human obsession with introspection. Once that took over the social preponderance, it was all over. “Experts” began driving people crazy with stupid quotes like, “You can draw more flies with a spoonful of honey than you can with a barrel full of vinegar.” For God’s sake, any dweeb knows that you can also draw lots of flies with a small pile of you know what!
It’s been downhill ever since. And that downhill slope got even steeper once Maslow entered the picture and all the wannabe shrinks began crawling out of the woodwork spouting off about his damn Needs Hierarchy. Pretty soon, parents began worrying about how their kids felt about things… you know, as though kids have RIGHTS and that their busy parents were, somehow, supposed to give a crap. Now all the little darlings have to do is dial 911 and lie like hell!
But, you know what? We could have all that peace and tranquility back again. All we have to do is make a slight adjustment to the American system of family law and enact a statutory provision to enforce the adjustments. We wouldn’t even have to pass a Constitutional Amendment. The do-gooders already provided the necessary Constitutional authority several years ago. You have to love it whenever unintended consequences turn into unanticipated benefits!
Let’s convert this country’s Family Law Code to the ancient Roman Family Law System and its statutory provision of Patria Potestas (translation: Power of the Father). It worked like a charm for almost a millennium and a half. And, I just know it CAN work NOW! Here’s how it worked… it was the coolest thing since popcorn back then. Amazingly simple, straightforward, and absolute.
Under the statute of Patria Potestas, a Roman father’s wife and children were all considered his property. His power over his wife, children, and other members of his family was absolute. He had the legal right to arrange marriages for his children and could force them to divorce spouses they loved; he could disown a child, sell a child into slavery, or even kill a child whose behavior displeased him. He also had the same power over his wife.
His word was literally the law, not to mention absolutely UNAPPEALABLE. Think about it. No smart-mouthed know-it-all 14-year-olds. A ZERO divorce rate! No Alimony!
Now, I’m not going to get into all that moral versus immoral stuff about abortion. We can debate THAT some other time. Right now, I’m just trying to resolve the dilemma of what constitutes abuse when it comes to disciplining children. It’s an impossible task ANYWAY we look at it because we’re never going to come up with something that satisfies everyone. So, we just need to stop wasting so damn much time and get us into the old Roman system.
And, the framework for enforcement is already in place in Roe v Wade. All we’d have to do is tweak the definition of abortion. Instead of centering it on the intentional termination of unwanted pregnancies, we need to re-center it on the intentional termination of stress caused by mouthy, know-it-all, misbehaving kids.
Pro-choice or Pro-life does not matter. Once we get that definition tweaked to suit our needs, any idiot will be able to see that we’ve been doing it too soon. Under our new and improved definition of abortion, we’d put it off until about the age of… say twelve or thirteen. Think about the impact on a kid hearing the words, “OK, keep it up and we’re going to the clinic!”
Yes, I know that kids are going to be wailing all over the place, “This is not fair!” And, they’ll be correct. But, unfortunately, parents do not NOW, nor have they EVER, cared about FAIR. They care about QUIET!
Oh, and I’m sure not many women—OK, NONE—will be at all enthusiastic about this change. But, I’m sure that with certain, well timed… shall we say, “inducements,” mutually satisfying compromises can be had. And, if NOT, you can simply wait until he’s asleep—beer and a blow j… I mean back rub will put most men into a temporary coma—and then stab the bastard in the temple with a pair of scissors!
Regards,
Joe Walther
Mr. Ego and Ms. Arrogance are eternal lovers whose perpetual shenanigans always give birth to a love-child called Stupid.
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Doesn't sound like it comes remotely close to child abuse to me.
Originally Posted by ScentsyLorien
