TDL OPINION: The Religion of Perpetual 5 year olds
By: Number 2
This past weekend, while standing in line at my local drug store, I saw a child, he looked to be about 5 or 6 years old, throwing a spectacular temper tantrum. Mommy wouldn't buy this little kid a bag of candy so he proceeded to kick, scream, cry and flop about the floor for a good three minutes. His mortified mother studiously ignored him, just like Dr. Spock has taught generations of new parents to do. While trying not to stare at this scene I thought to myself "Would a good parent let it get to this point in public?" It then struck me where I had witnessed this scene before: it is a microsm of America, the West and the Muslim world.
By the time this week's Papal brouhaha came about we all knew the drill: some Western figure makes a comment that is seen as insensitive to Muslims, and the Muslim world proceeds to throw a global temper tantrum. However, much like I questioned the parenting skills of the mother in the drug store, the blame for the inevitable riots and firebombings comes to rest on the Pope and not the people holding the molotov cocktails.
We in the West by and large look on the Muslim world like someone else's rambunctious toddler; regular eruptions of bad behavior are to be expected, but they aren't the child's fault becaue they don't know any better. Also, much like modern child rearing, any attempt to actually stop the tantrums through real discipline are frowned upon by the larger world. So the mother, desperate to end the fuss, finally relents and buys the candy. The child quickly makes the obvious connection: tantrum=candy.
The balance of power begins to shift.
Next week the fit will be in the mall over a new toy. The week after it will be in front of the in-laws over when he must go to bed. In no time at all the child is, for all intents and purposes, the head of the household, with his parents working full time to prevent the next outbreak of violence. The flood of tantrums could be ended at any time by a few painful but not harmful swats to the behind, but the 'modern' parent doesn't do that sort of thing. The 'experts' say, "It's just a phase. They'll grow out of it eventually and become wonderful, progressive adults." So the mother stands there in the drug store and ignores the problem or desperately, hopefully, tries to appease the child, just this once. But it never works.
The big difference between a 5-year-old and the Muslim world, of course, is that the worst a toddler can do is bruise your shins or break a vase; when the Muslim world pitches a fit, buildings burn and people die. The problem could be solved with painful but not harmful smack to the collective behind of the Muslim world, but then the 'enlightened' West would tut-tut and cluck their tounges in disapproval. Because after all, they don't know any better.
This past weekend, while standing in line at my local drug store, I saw a child, he looked to be about 5 or 6 years old, throwing a spectacular temper tantrum. Mommy wouldn't buy this little kid a bag of candy so he proceeded to kick, scream, cry and flop about the floor for a good three minutes. His mortified mother studiously ignored him, just like Dr. Spock has taught generations of new parents to do. While trying not to stare at this scene I thought to myself "Would a good parent let it get to this point in public?" It then struck me where I had witnessed this scene before: it is a microsm of America, the West and the Muslim world.
By the time this week's Papal brouhaha came about we all knew the drill: some Western figure makes a comment that is seen as insensitive to Muslims, and the Muslim world proceeds to throw a global temper tantrum. However, much like I questioned the parenting skills of the mother in the drug store, the blame for the inevitable riots and firebombings comes to rest on the Pope and not the people holding the molotov cocktails.
We in the West by and large look on the Muslim world like someone else's rambunctious toddler; regular eruptions of bad behavior are to be expected, but they aren't the child's fault becaue they don't know any better. Also, much like modern child rearing, any attempt to actually stop the tantrums through real discipline are frowned upon by the larger world. So the mother, desperate to end the fuss, finally relents and buys the candy. The child quickly makes the obvious connection: tantrum=candy.
The balance of power begins to shift.
Next week the fit will be in the mall over a new toy. The week after it will be in front of the in-laws over when he must go to bed. In no time at all the child is, for all intents and purposes, the head of the household, with his parents working full time to prevent the next outbreak of violence. The flood of tantrums could be ended at any time by a few painful but not harmful swats to the behind, but the 'modern' parent doesn't do that sort of thing. The 'experts' say, "It's just a phase. They'll grow out of it eventually and become wonderful, progressive adults." So the mother stands there in the drug store and ignores the problem or desperately, hopefully, tries to appease the child, just this once. But it never works.
The big difference between a 5-year-old and the Muslim world, of course, is that the worst a toddler can do is bruise your shins or break a vase; when the Muslim world pitches a fit, buildings burn and people die. The problem could be solved with painful but not harmful smack to the collective behind of the Muslim world, but then the 'enlightened' West would tut-tut and cluck their tounges in disapproval. Because after all, they don't know any better.
posted by The TDL News Team at 10:37 AM
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