Children are a huge responsibility. And, of course that is a huge understatement. The outcome of raising children is not only important for parents, but for society in general. After all, that's why society deems it important enough to spend money on schooling for every child, not just the wealthy children who can pay for an expensive education.
But, as we all know, raising children is a complex task. Children need to be told how to do basic things. Children need to practice doing basic things. And, Children need to learn how to determine when to use their basic knowledge for the good of themselves and society. Otherwise the American experiment of Democracy is bound to fall by the wayside. Children need to learn enough so that when they are adults they will be able to listen to complex issues and reason which way to vote on complex issues. Because if they defer their responsibility to what the flashy ads tell them to do the flashiest advertising will persuade the most people and we no longer have a legitimate Democracy.
But, how do parents raise the best possible children to grow into the best possible adults?
If parents are watching their children every waking moment telling their children what to do at every possible instant will the child learn to make the right choices? In this case a child will never make a mistake, isn't that good for the child? I think that we all know that a child who is told what to do and when to do it will come to expect to be told what to do and when to do it. In the long run that parent can not be there at every moment and when the parent is no longer there the child will not know what to do and when to do it. This is the fate of the overprotected child. What seems to be the best thing for the child in the short term becomes the worst thing for the child in the long term.
It turns out that America is making the same mistake with Iraq. America through George W Bush has determined that Iraq needs some help becoming an adult nation in the eyes of the world. He has determined that if America show Iraq how to be a Democracy then Iraq will become a Democracy. Since the forceful destruction of the Iraq infrastructure the United States has tried to teach the Iraqis how to become a Democracy. They told Iraq how to have elections to create a constitutional convention, like the United States did 200 years ago. They to Iraq how to write a constitution, like the United States did 200 years ago. They told the Iraqis how fast they should create the constitution. They told the Iraqis how fast to have elections. They told the Iraqis to create a police force and a military. They told the Iraqis how to control the outbreaks of violence and how to deal with the insurgency. Basically they continue to hold the Iraqis hands every step of the way. So, do you think that the Iraqi people are being trained to be an independent or dependent nation?
Just like a child who has been protected and never given the chance to be independent the Iraqis are gradually becoming more and more dependent on the protection of the United States. When the Iraqis are trying to walk as a democracy the Americans are holding their hand every step of the way. When America finally lets go Iraq may no longer believe that it can stand on its own. This faith in ones self is more important than the protection, Iraq is beginning to believe that it can not do without. Iraq needs to begin to stand on its own and begin taking that step to adulthood.
This is like the conservative parent that believes that the local high school contains "evil" so they decide to home school their child. The child may learn quite a bit from the home schooling experience, but will the child know what to do when real danger presents itself. It could be at some future time in the workplace or the University. The child faces the real test between "good" and "evil." But they have never been prepared with all the normal smaller tests along the way? The Iraq situation may face the same choice between "good" and "evil" whenever we finally get up the courage to let the child stand on her own.