The Tyrants at the Door!!

Every generation seems to think that theirs is the worse yet. And when it comes to children, there isn’t a generation in history that has had the boorish, rude and generally obnoxious children that this particular one has. Or so the thinking goes. You may have heard the famous saying, attributed to Socrates that goes something like this: “Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers.” No need to remind you that Socrates lived over 20 centuries ago!! Come to think of it, the great philosopher was killed by those whom he taught; probably the children he spoke of who had become adults by that time!

Society’s Cognitive Dissonance

Fox News recently reported about a city ordinance that is now being considered by the Wisconsin legislature. According to the report, the city is considering fining parents if their children act as bullies. The fines were not specified, but the idea is that the city police force will enforce the statutes and, as the report put it, come to your house if necessary to ensure that you pay the penalty for your children’s bad behavior. Of course, if we know anything about parenting at all, it is that parents not only should be held accountable, but are in fact accountable for their children’s behavior.