| 8/6/01 - ENG4060 Lies: Kid-tested, Mother-approved Honesty is a virtue held in high regard in many societies. So naturally, an inclination to encourage complete truthfulness in children is to be expected. These children will not only represent themselves and their families, but also their culture and community. But which is more important – creating prototypes of moral citizens or nurturing children so that they may live life to the fullest? The former is an unfair and almost impossible option within societies where dishonesty is as thick as gravy and the only examples to follow are parents who aren’t and perhaps shouldn’t be honest with their children. Practically from the time they’re born, children are taught to accept a plethora of false truths. The fallacy is in assuming that all deception is immoral and destructive. Dishonesty may provide the foundation of a healthy childhood. Perhaps the greatest scheme of all time, whether it is to be blamed on tradition or deviousness, is the concoction of fictional characters that children presume exist in reality. The illustrious Mr. Claus, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and Sandman were all good friends of mine as a child. Despite never having seen them, I remained loyal to my comrades, because there were always presents under the tree, eggs to be hunted, money under my pillow and somehow, I always fell asleep at night. Those Santas standing outside of Kmart ringing bells for the Salvation Army or taking pictures with kids at the mall? Poseurs. I knew the real Santa didn’t have time for such frivolity – he was the chief supervisor of the biggest toy factory in the world. Did it ever dawn on me that I was promoted from quarters to dollar bills after I asked Mom why the tooth fairy gave Lisa and Rose seventy-five cents more? Why was Mom filling plastic eggs? Why did Santa use the same wrapping paper? Never start asking yourself questions that you don’t want the answers to. Anticipating the arrival of these seasonal celebrities was one of the highlights of my childhood, and rightfully so. As a faithful believer of the fictional creatures, my imagination was ignited and my ability to hope was limitless, giving me a certain happiness adults seem to lack and futilely strive to attain. Life had no limits. The line between fact and fiction was practically non-existent. These same adults may make the excuse that children just aren’t acquainted with the ways of the world, blissfully ignorant of the reality of living. To an onlooker, however, children may seem to understand something about life that grown-ups don’t. Ironically, the unrealized truth and understanding that children possess at least partly stems from a series of little storybook lies that keep them waiting for the next holiday. Imaginations shouldn’t be given too much freedom to run rampant at a young age. Sex is a dangerous and delicate subject to approach. Until parents decide that their children have reached a certain level of maturity to have “the talk” (or they muster enough courage to bring it up), children have to be content with the Stork Theory – “A stork is going to deliver your baby sister to us, honey. Isn’t it exciting?” If you had parents like mine, you were forced to accept stork folklore indefinitely. Mom and Dad chose not to teach me about the birds and the bees at all. To this day, my mother has a hard time saying the word “sex” in front of me. She makes me well aware that she doesn’t want me to do “it,” but she won’t say what “it” is. Most people who were lucky enough (or unlucky enough, depending on how you look at the situation) to have parents that taught them about the “s-word” learn that intercourse is a mystical, magical, sacred phenomenon only to be shared with someone with whom you feel the deepest love and spiritual connection (preferably your spouse). Gibberish. Basically, the lesson of the day is don’t knock anyone up or don’t get yourself knocked up. I’m so grateful for my parents’ timidity. Lack of carnal knowledge meant lack of carnal curiosity. An outbreak of cooties had already taken over the playground, no need for a new strain. If I had naively worried about catching an STD while chasing boys around the jungle gym, I would have wasted the best aspect of being a kid – my innocence. The age of innocence in today’s children seems to be receding like my father’s hairline. Whether kids are learning about sex from other kids or parents are teaching them before they learn from other kids, the loss of innocence is an awful one. Sexual education classes are being taught earlier and earlier. My first sex ed class was taken in the seventh grade – and it created quite a commotion among parents. My cousin is taking it in elementary school as part of the regular curriculum. Though children are reaching puberty earlier as people get healthier, it almost seems needless to give them a tutorial about the birds and the bees – not when their main concern is whether Mom packed a peanut butter and jelly or a ham and cheese. So I’d like to make a toast to the longevity of the Society of the Storks and give kudos to the parents who choose to prolong innocence in their children with a little fraudulence. |
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| propaganda My Worldview 5.26.98 Maligayang Bati 10.5.00 The Devil, the Grape- fruit Diet and Fat Pants 11.14.00 Lies: Kid-tested, Mother-approved 8.6.01 |
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