Are we DESTROYING society through a false sense of SELF-ESTEEM

by Terry 84 Replies latest jw friends

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  Fadeout

  I once heard an illustration... I don't know if the example is true or not, but it goes like this:

  If you put a group of crabs together in a bucket, and one starts to climb out, the others will pull him back down.

  That's it.

  Also, in any argument, the first person to make a comparison to Hitler loses.

  I cannot think of another time in history that any populace demonstrated such a sense of entitlement as does that of our present rich industrialized nations.

  I imagine that if such a society did exist, it likely collapsed relatively soon thereafter.
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  fifi40

  Ok Fadeout............I get your point, crabs and all............

  Here is my problem with Terence the crab's thread.....

  In his intial post he discusses the requirement for teachers to have in their classes kids who require profound amounts of time and attention, thus failing the kids with more ability.

  Firstly my question is this...............is this because of political correctness or societies desire to build a false sense of self esteem in the academically impaired child?

  He then goes on in a further post to discuss how one of his own children who has a form of autism attended a school for kids with special learning problems.

  What I cant understand is the apparent contradiction in Terry's own words that we live in a society that insists on placing special need kids in 'regular' school and yet that very same society recognises and provides a special learning problem school for Terry's own son.

  He uses and example of the Super Bowl and asks us to IMAGINE a scenario that doesnt happen.............it is not factual of society.......we dont see what he asks us to imagine, in fact we see the opposite..............and yet it is a defense to his topic.

  I recognise and understand what Terry is saying about Political Correctness..............how we are advised to avoid saying it how it is sometimes in case we cause offense..............and I agree with his sentiment whole heartedly..............but I dont agree that this is done out of a desire to build others self esteem (falsely)...............I see it as a concept to avoid hurting other people.
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  Terry

  Firstly my question is this...............is this because of political correctness or societies desire to build a false sense of self esteem in the academically impaired child?

  He then goes on in a further post to discuss how one of his own children who has a form of autism attended a school for kids with special learning problems.

  What I cant understand is the apparent contradiction in Terry's own words that we live in a society that insists on placing special need kids in 'regular' school and yet that very same society recognises and provides a special learning problem school for Terry's own son.

  Political correctness is what we call society's desire to build a sense of self-esteem (which is false) in impaired children.

  We live in a society composed of competing values. One value (which has worked its way into the PUBLIC school system) uses Political Correctness to address perceived problems. Another value (private school) allows kids with learning disabilities or other problems to receive special teachers (trained to do this job) attention without those same teachers removing thier attention from normative classmates. (Because the school is only designed for the disability student.)

  So, there are multiple solutions to problems. My Topic addresses what I perceive to be the wrong philosophy (political correctness.)

  I extrapolate to Society as a whole which has become "infected" with the political correctness to the point of eroding the very consciousness of people as to ACTUAL differences between people. (Particularly revealed here by the hysteria generated by those who can't see differences without fantasies of Nazi holocaust looming before them.)
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  BurnTheShips

  So, there are multiple solutions to problems. My Topic addresses what I perceive to be the wrong philosophy (political correctness.)

  OK now you are backpedaling.
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  beksbks

  Lack of self esteem is the root of much evil. Children feel safest when they "fit in" they need to feel like they are just like everyone else. Ask any born in JW. It has been my personal experience as a parent, that children with disabilities are taught in special classrooms at the least. The short bus and all. As far as everyone getting a trophy just for participating, that seems to be exclusive to the lower grades. What's wrong with that? It may keep them trying. You certainly don't see that in high school or college teams. In most cases "political correctness" is simply respect for diversity, manners. My two cents.
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  Fadeout

  OK fifi,

  I will admit that one of Terry's points seems to be self-contradictory.

  The mongoloid children in the same class as the "normies" leads to less opportunity for the normies. As Terry says, "Consequently, those parents who can afford to--put the advanced students in special magnet schools where they can achieve at their own pace."

  To my mind, that seems to be the logical and desirable result of that situation. As Terry says, we live in a world of winners and losers, the successful and unsuccessful. The cream rises to the top, does it not?

  So when you have enjoyed success as the result of your efforts, and you don't want your intelligent child drug down by mongoloids, you exercise the power gained by your success and spend the extra money to obtain a better education for your progeny.

  The public school system provides FREE education. If you don't like the education provided, you are welcome to purchase the alternate education of your preference. If you cannot afford this, you will have to make do with whatever quality of FREE education your more successful contemporaries are financing for you.
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  fifi40

  Oh dear Fadeout

  No that is not what Terry is saying.................he is saying that we live in a world where winners and losers are treated equally............in fact winning is discouraged so that the losers dont feel bad................political correctness or developing a false sense of self esteem being the root of this...........the result being that we are destroying society.

  My argument as in the case of the superbowl illustration is in line with your own comment, and the opposite of Terry's prompt to us to imagine a scenario, in that society does actually promote and encourage winners, sports stars being on way of illustrating this.

  Also I am not sure of the situation in USA but here we do have government funded facilties for teaching children with special needs which are seperate from regular schools and does not incur the cost of private schooling for the parents.
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  sammielee24

  When we crave an equal society and an empowerment for those who are "less fortunate" that is one thing. But, when we try to make it happen by damaging our cognitive ability to think in the process---that is another thing. A very damaging thing.

  So....is it political correctness...or self esteem? Let's take the term 'homosexual' since that can be a 'hot wire' and an issue constantly in the fundamentalist mindset. Homosexual is one person being attracted to another person of the same sex. The term denotes by use to being 'different' and in many countries and religions as being 'wrong'. Then the word is changed to 'gay'. The attitude of all people doesn't change, but the change in one simple word moves the issue into the mainstream and it starts to become more acceptable. If you were to take Will and Grace - the gay show and have it referred to in the media as 'Will and Grace' the homosexual show - the meaning changes and becomes blunt instead of softened. It was a good PR move by the activists to encourage the change and now you seldom hear anyone use any other word than gay. Does the change empower this group? and in empowering them, does it switch the way we think to a more liberal mindset and what damage does that do?

  Take the medical community. We, society, want all kids to be the same - women to be beautiful - we set the standard. There are more child psychologists now than at any time before and more kids under 5 on prozac and other drugs than in history - we as a society have set the bar where it is and as such, when the pharmaceutical industry sells the masses on drugs and illnesses to match, everyone buys into it. It isn't a false sense of self esteem, perhaps it's more of society collectively, setting the bar so high that in order to reach it, people buy into how to get it. Shyness used to be considered a form of low self esteem - there are now drugs you can take to counteract that behaviour. Acne caused low self esteem - there are now drugs to clear it up and millions of prescriptions sold to do so even if a percentage of those people taking the drugs will become depressed and/or committ suicide. sammieswife.
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  Quentin

  Terry, JWD "society" has spoken and found your arguments to be sub-standard! Hopefully your self-esteem won't be too crushed!....cog...

  Gee, thanks cog for speaking for me...always wanted my own advocate...()...

  fifi, Terry's topics are always there to be shot at......somewhere in this discourse the subject revolved around PC and it's effect on society...PC plays a minor role in the false self-esteem that has covered all like a wool blanket...I fear many are asleep at the wheel...

  The next ten years will tell the tale as to a destruction of society, as we know it....we'll see...if enough folks wake up...
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  cognizant dissident

  Terry, JWD "society" has spoken and found your arguments to be sub-standard! Hopefully your self-esteem won't be too crushed!....cog...

  Gee, thanks cog for speaking for me...always wanted my own advocate...()...

  Your right Quentin. It was very arrogant of me to set up my own standards for the discussion and then insist Terry measure up to them. What nerve!