A blogger friend of mine recently wrote extensively on
the therapeutic value of cleaning toilets. I can relate to that as it may be a useful way to live in the present moment for a change and put ones’ troubles in perspective.
But it occurred to me that I have quite a list of household chores I detest-
not one of them therapeutic. Cleaning toilets is on this list but it is
not number one. Oh no. Number one is taking clothes out of the
dryer. I’d rather watch re-runs of Mr. Roger’s
Neighborhood over and over as I did when my children were little rather than deal with those static electricity filled shock bombs. I just can't stand touching hot greying white socks, hot tangled blue jeans, and hot t-shirts I’m embarrassed to wear when they cool down because they say things on
them such as: Whatever! or I Love Animals-They’re Delicious,
or one that says I Believe under a photo of Sasquatch riding a trail bike. I
also despise using a broom, cleaning the sink, and emptying the
dishwasher. Vacuuming is OK though. But this rant is not about my laundry, this rant is about scientists...and people who have no respect for science.
In the January 2013 issue of Smithsonian Magazine
there is a fascinating article entitled Are Babies Born Good?
I read it in the bathroom. It took me a couple of "sittings" as it is lengthy. The writer reports on research done by Yale University’s Infant
Cognition Center which is studying “the moral inclinations of babies—how the
littlest children understand right and wrong, before language and culture exert
their deep influence. “What are we at our core, before anything, before
everything?” And surprise, surprise, they conclude that yes, “something’s
happening here”…to quote a line from an old song by Buffalo Springfield. Remember
them? Oh, you’re too young? Whatever.
Anyway, scientific studies from many sources are now
saying the same thing. To which I say: stupid scientists! Any parent can
tell you….heck, I can tell you as a parent myself: every baby is born with a different personality and you learn quickly that babies have always somehow known the difference between right and wrong, cruelty and kindness,
love and hate. For example, I was sitting at the kitchen table feeding my oldest son, then six months old. The news was on TV, and he was facing directly in front of this TV. The screen shifted into a clip of two men getting into a fight. It was real and they were seriously hurting each other. My son began to wail, clearly upset at what he was seeing. Why was that? We hadn't been teaching him that hurting each other was "bad". And hey, don't give me the “culture is everything”
argument and don't spout that “your right is someone else’s wrong" cliche either. Baloney! Even dogs can tell the difference between right and wrong. Just look at Fido's face after you've caught him tearing up your leather jacket!
I’m not done here. On the
Smithsonianmag.com site is a retort to this article and research entitled: Babies
Aren’t So Moral After All, Unless We Engineer Them That Way
This set of research scientists starts out by quoting
one of the original study authors, Yale psychologist Paul Bloom, who states:
“A sympathetic parent
might see the spark of consciousness in a baby’s large eyes and eagerly accept
the popular claim that babies are wonderful learners, but it is hard to avoid
the impression that they begin as ignorant as bread loaves. I am
admittedly biased, but I think one of the great discoveries in modern
psychology is that this view of babies is mistaken.”
The Babies Aren’t So Moral
scientists conducted their own experiment, one of them, that they say
invalidates the conclusion that the Babies Are Born Good scientists
purport. Stupid scientists! One experiment compared to many?
Everything is learned? Everything is a result of cultural
influences? In other words, we are just empty hard drives
waiting to be programed? You must think we are as ignorant as bread
loaves!
These two articles remind me of
the “global warming has nothing to do with man” argument. On one side,
hundreds of scientists with hundreds of studies are saying that yes, we are fouling
our nest and we had better do something before it’s too late. On the other
side, a dozen scientists and dozens of selfish politicians are saying no, it’s
just a natural cycle and there is nothing we can do about it. I
say: just look around you people! You can see it for yourselves! As Bob Dylan said: “you don’t need a weatherman to see which way the wind blows”.
Smell your own polluted air! Taste your own dirty water! See the
fish dying in your rising oceans! Watch your forests burning! Fellow bread
loaves: wouldn’t it be a good idea to try to fix this mess before it gets
any worse? Just saying.
References:
BTW: I really only own the "Whatever"
t-shirt, and I don't mind wearing it all that much.
© Steve Stewart and See Next Rock,
2013
Thanks for the mention. Now, don't worry....I'm not going to recommend chewing on tin foil while sticking your finger in a light socket as a reasonable choice coping skill!
ReplyDelete