Adolescence without Conscience
By Daria Brezinski, Ph.D.
Are we really civilized? How civil can we be when our children get the message that we do not honor and respect a human life. Clearly there is something awry in America when our children believe that killing and suicide are the answers to everyday problems. The seven basic elements missing in our culture today that give youths meaning for life are: 1) the lack of spiritual rituals and meaningful traditions, 2) the decline of religion, 3) the laxity of gun control, 4) the worship of the television and other machines 5) accessibility of drugs 6) meaningless education that does not have correlation to cause and effect everyday life and 7)loving support and acceptance through time of trouble. These are the means by which we convey to children the highest principles for sustaining life and society.
Traditional cultures are rich with spiritual traditions that give children an understanding and experience of the stages of life. Natural rituals for birth, infancy, childhood, adolescence, maturity and death abound in other societies. In an article in Adolescence magazine, Winter 1995 v30 n120, ‘Rites of Passage in Adolescence’, Cassandra Halleh Delaney explores the traditions of several cultures; The Okiek in Kenya, Ira in Africa, Mocas Novas in Amazon, and Native Americans. These traditional cultures were rich with rituals that enabled both male and female children to become knowledgeable of the changes in their bodies and the responsibility and duties of adulthood with respect to the tribe. As David McClean also posits in a Natural Health article July-August 1995, v25, n4, ‘Lights of Passage: Rituals and Rites of Passage for the Problems and Pleasures of Modern Life’, “rituals are an ancient tool for navigating the mental and emotional processes of human transition”. These traditions must be passed to the child by an elder; the person who has the knowledge and the spiritual reverence for the transition. Without this depth, passage from childhood is devoid of meaning.
Although American culture has some traditions, Delaney found that they are mostly based in economic and material relationship rather than spiritual and reverence. This lack of depth subjects tradition to materialistic focus. When this occurs, the spiritual and natural essence of life is missing. Christmas is no longer the celebration of birth and the winter solstice, it is a commercial endeavor to accumulate goods. Thanksgiving is a time for overindulgence not gratitude. Easter, rather than renewal and rejuvenation of the earth, is a message of junk food and commercialism. Our traditions have become dictated by clever marketing companies and lack the depth our children need to function in society.
Joseph Campbell in The Power of Myth tells us that the decline of the original Christian principles of Christ, Mohammed, Buddha and other religious leaders, has all but disappeared in our commercial world. Through the mythology of Eastern religions and the Indian cultures East and West, we can once again remember who we are and why we are here on this planet. Somehow, we have moved away from the ideals of our religious roots that maintain the laws of forgiveness and reverence for life and instead, have adopted an unnatural conception of the way life unfolds and evolves through destruction. Campbell contends that if we continue this spiral, we will destroy ourselves. Our ability to rekindle the spirit and soul of our youths will mean the perpetuation of humanity. Without these universal principles in daily life, civilization will decline to an unfortunate end. Teaching children the message of the ‘god, spirit and soul within’ is key to this renewal.
Not too long ago, the sixth grade curriculum in physical education mandated that children learn to shot a gun. One of the most disturbing sights in the South is the visibility of rifles on racks in the interior of a pick-up truck. In the media on television shows and movies, guns are the means by which manhood is reclaimed and maintained and glorified. What message does this give to our children? It signifies the worship of firearm as an everyday tool. Guns are no longer necessary to ward off animal predators or invaders. Our children receive the message that guns are a necessary part of life and the solution to problems that arise when we elevate to the status of normal everyday usage. The ability to distinguish between adult ritual and intent for destruction is inconceivable to a child. Mixed messages like “Thou shalt not kill” and seeing dad kill a deer are confusing to children who lack the maturity to sort these events. These messages mix and blend into one idea- guns are OK to use as a problem solving tool.
Ralph Nader and Linda Cocco have collaborated on a book that represents a ten year study of corporate America called Children First: A Parent’s Guide to Fighting Corporate Predators. “Every part of a child’s life, intimate, social and impressionable, can be touched by the corporate tentacles, shaping their minds and wants with corporate characters and products.” Nader says that the decline of the family, disrespect for adults and authority figures, lack of direction and disrespect for life can all be traced to the television, computer and other mechanical tools. “With the growth of the two-earner household, long commutes, and the decline of the extended family residence, the traditional American household culture dissolved as the emergence of television and direct selling to children commenced.” Nader conveys that most teens today work to increase their consumer income rather than to support the family leaving them more and more prone to the sweet profit-pickings of corporate marketers.
“The amount of youths age 14 to 18 in the US today addicted to anti-depressant drugs, approximately 65%, is more than the entire adult population!” states a report by Michael Mendizza in Touch The Future magazine, Winter 1997-98. Add this to the staggering statistics of the children on illegal drugs and alcohol, and we come to a terrifying dilemma in this country. Drugs distort perception of the real world says the Journal of the American Medical Association in several reports. Children addicted to anti-depressants, marijuana and cocaine, some from birth inherited from addicted parents, have a distorted sense of reality. Their ability to perceive right and wrong is impaired. They lack conscience. According to Joseph Chilton Pearce in Magical Child, these children have undeveloped limbic systems, which are located in the mid-brain. The limbic system houses the ability to know right from wrong. This damage is irreversible.
John Gatto, New York Teacher of the Year and author of Dumbing Us Down, condemns our school systems for the irrelevant subject matter, Gestapo control tactics and disrespect for the life of a child. Gatto says that there is no hope for the children in our schools because children are herded and treated like cattle for slaughter rather than taught meaningful transitions and preparation for adulthood. Once more, because of the drugs, violence and lack of control, schools are no longer a safe haven of learning. Fear and sublimation from adults and peers is the protocol. Gatto suggests that an entirely new way of thinking and learning must be incorporated into our schools immediately. His message is that until this happens, parents should keep their children at home.
“The healing element for everyone lies in the fact that within the hurt or times of pain, we feel loved by someone without judgement”, states Dr. Wayne Diamond, naturopath and psychotherapist. We have become a society so full of judgements that we have lost the ability to listen and accept our children in their times of crisis and pain. They feel alienated and alone. The only place to turn for a listening ear is to peers. And peers lack the wisdom of years that may help in situations. Peer groups have become the counter culture and the transition medium for initiation to adulthood. The means of initiation are drugs, sex, violence, secret sects and other anti-social behaviors. If we could learn to slow down, take the time and listen to our children, perhaps we can alter this direction of destruction.
Black Elk in Black Elk Speaks said that one day, the people who inhabit the America’s would come to realize that their destructive ways would bring an end to culture. Native Americans revered the earth and nature. When an animal was killed for food, every piece of the animal was used and prayer was offered for its soul. When a piece of fruit was eaten, a seed was planted to replenish the earth. Native Americans displayed a reference for life. A similar code of conduct is missing in our culture. We have lost that respect and hence the respect for each other and every living creature. Black Elk said, “Children are Gods’ promise that life will continue on this planet”. What are we doing to continue and assure their survival? How long can we continue without meaningful traditions, spiritual values and morals, totting guns, peddling drugs and teaching the rights of passage in artificial environments?
Conscience, the ability to know right from wrong, is a gray area for America’s youth. With adults as models who steal from work, cheat the system in any way possible, worship the images, values and ideals of the television, live lives lacking in self-discipline, self-actualization and self-motivation, how can children ever conceive high moral, religious and spiritual ideals? Our children lack direction because adults live for today. Our children lack conscience because there are few models, very few models that teach them otherwise. We must rethink our own lives with our children in mind. Who will protect our children in the future with generations of adults that lack conscience?
Daria Brezinski, Ph. D.