Are We a Civil Society?

How long are we going to continue to promote a society where children have access to guns and are so angry and out of control that they use them on their classmates? Life has always been hard – every generation has its challenges. As a matter of fact, our challenges as humans going through the process of being human – our challenges are the same, no matter which generation we are born into. Women go through the challenge of monthly cycles to produce children then finance them and care for them – pretty much for the rest of their life in one way or another. Likewise men have the similar challenge without having to actually give birth. We all have the challenge of getting along with each other. We deal with envy, greed, anger, disappointment and sometimes rage in ways that hopefully are acceptable to society. And it seems to me that society has some responsibility in offering ways to help us adjust to life’s challenges. Thus my focus on raising authentic children and teaching them at an early age to recognize and deal with the issues of being human, including emotions.

These are some of the things I wonder about when it comes to how our society is structured to raise children.

• What provisions do we make to help children deal with their emotional development? Are there any classes on ‘being human’ – helping children learn how to recognize and manage their emotions – love, fear, anger, etc. Is this a standard part of school curriculums or only dealt with when there are emergencies?
• How do children get the opportunity to learn about “who” they are? I’m talking about the spirit of the child and understanding the voice that speaks within. Now I’m not referring to religious education where churches help children understand church doctrine. I’m talking about helping the child identify feelings they may be experiencing and identifying responsible ways to deal with their feelings. 

One of the wonderful beauties of being human is being able to feel emotions. Being able to manage emotions is what makes us a civil society. A civil society makes ways for its members to maximize their potential for the benefit of the overall society. How are you doing this for the children in your world?