Are You Raising a Child or Raising a Society?

“The government needs to stay away from morality laws and legislation around sex, race, and other very personal things.”

”You teach them math and science and I will decide what non-academic views and beliefs they are raised on.”

“Children should not be raised according to anyone’s moral code except their parents.”

And…

Children end up being adults.

Adults who participate in a broader society with others (adults and children).

Participation that influences and impacts those same adults and children.

Influences and impacts that are compounding and can be negative or positive.

Compounding negative or positive influences and impacts that ultimately steer the fate of society.

Pause. This is not an article about removing parents from the equation. It is an article about exploring phrases like, “My child, my choice in how they are raised and what they learn!” A phrase that, at its core, is really about what people think is best for society — how they think it should be steered. More on that later.

Over the past four to five years, a lot has been said about what schools should and shouldn’t teach or what the government should or shouldn’t get involved in when it comes to social and moral issues. On one side of the aisle, people are advocating for things like critical race theory (CRT) and gender neutral bathrooms while those on the other side are advocating for administrators and government organizations to leave these and other like topics alone.

In the next four to five years, these conversations will only increase; this for two simple reasons:

1. The more people talk, the more divided we get. The more divided we get, the less decisions are made. The less decisions that are made, the more people will talk about the topics surrounding the decisions. This is what happens when things are left hanging; unresolved.
2. Today’s younger generations are more active with social justice and are less inclined to enter the discussions from a give or take perspective. From their lens, right is right and human rights are non-negotiable.