DISRESPECT OF PARENTS HARMS THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-RESPECT

DISRESPECT OF PARENTS HARMS THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-RESPECT

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist

It is common for children to correct their parents at every opportunity. In our modern culture children are exposed in the mass media especially on television where advertisements of youngsters cleverly push the envelope of parental rules.

In one commercial an infant with the aid of his dog is somehow able to rig up a pulley system to get the bread off the top of the refrigerator while the mother looks stunned. This mother is unable to prevent even her infant son from getting the food she does not want him to have. The child is outsmarting his parent. The GEICO Peter Pan commercial emphasizes youth getting away with saying socially inappropriate things to adults. The adult always looks stupid and the child smart. This subliminal message has been communicated to the masses by the media for decades.

This propaganda has taken root in the American psyche, foremost with parents. Today’s parents see their children as so “smart and cute.” They permit their children to say outrageous, negative things about them. There are no verbal or physical reprimands to the offensive statements. These negative remarks and behavior are overlooked by the adult but not by the child.  These unchallenged comments paint a pathetic picture of parents in the child’s mind.

When a child puts down his parents for whatever reason, his future becomes a little more bleak. The youngster is underscoring a behavior that increases the probability that he would repeat it. Often this mass media exposure is so powerful that the child believes his “put down” behavior is necessary to be seen as cool. Instead of role modeling his parent’s positive behavior the child does the opposite. Disrespecting of parents confuses the youngster as to what direction to go to define his personality as he matures. The child begins to unconsciously resist all of his parent’s advice and life style, which leads to alienating other authority figures. This disrespecting eventually results in the child not liking himself.

Moreover, the uncertainty of his parent’s ability to guide and protect him and the fog of defining oneself is disconcerting. The youngster’s self-evaluation becomes an ordeal. This is the period the youngster begins to evaluate himself. The most influential people in his young life are the parents, both for the intensity of their intimate interactions and their undisputable genetic traits that were transmitted to him. If the youngster views his parents as ignorant losers all the knowledge they attempt to share with him is discarded. This makes his adolescence a more difficult stage then it should be.

Like it or not his parents initiated and guided his life up to this period. The youngster now has the choice and responsibility to take over the process to define himself. Every time he disrespects his parents without any resistance it tacitly shows his parents are weak. A person who views his parents as weak, or worse as worthless, starts life off in a poor position to become proud of himself. He has either suffered the realization that he is an ungrateful, self-centered brat or these parents were indeed dysfunctional failures. In either case his nasty behavior to his parents did not help him learn to be a better person.

Often these parents do not want to imitate their own parent’s take-charge behavior. They remember how they felt when they were reprimanded rather than acknowledge an important lesson learned. The momentary pain experienced was minor compared to one’s character development, which they overlooked or never realized. Short-term pain for long-term gain eludes many parents.

By being a good, obedient child, he would have developed good habits and skills no matter how useless his parents appear to be. Being nasty and rebellious towards them would only reinforce his worse traits. From then on he would own those disrespectful behaviors that would translate into his not being able to respect himself.

Many decent and loving parents produce defiant children. Besides the embarrassment the parents have to endure, the main concern should be their child’s bleak future. A child’s misbehavior will get him into trouble with other authority figures.  The youngster’s snarky attitude and offensive actions to teachers, extra curricular instructors, the police and any other adults can escalate many situations into crises. These other significant people will define him as troubled, nasty, anti social or worse a potential danger.

Being disrespectful to any authority often leads to confrontation. When the authority is evil it is a sign of inspirational courage to defy them. When the disrespect is directed at weak, ineffectual, loving parents it is a mean and harmful act. The same holds true when disrespectful behavior is directed at an honorable and helpful authority figure such as a principal, judge or police officer. These powerful figure’s actions can result in the youngsters placement in a psychiatric program or incarceration. The disrespect says more about the person being the disrespectful one rather than the one being mistreated.

Not only does the disrespect hurt the people who gave him life but self-defines him as a self-centered abuser of others.  Being disrespectful to decent parents and others is a self-destructive act that has no long-term positive outcome.

Self-respect starts with being grateful for what a person has. All people are imperfect thus are all parents. Disrespecting of others is the surest way not to be able to respect oneself.

Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. You can visit Dr. Maglio at www.drmaglio.blogspot.com.

POLITICAL TOLERANCE OF THE 1960S SHOULD APPLY TODAY

POLITICAL TOLERANCE OF THE 1960S SHOULD APPLY TODAY

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist

In the past universities were physically safe for teenagers to have a four-year hiatus to transition into adulthood. Many students enjoyed the free campus life so much that many became professional students. This was not surprising since the normal rules for civil behavior were relaxed. Streaking, easy access to drugs, alcohol and sex were protected practices on university property. Campuses were havens for self-indulgence approaching a hedonistic lifestyle.

These reality free zones offer not only the suspension of normal rules and laws of behavior but an experience to exchange and share ideas without consequences. There was tolerance by traditional Americans for not only unconventional behavior but for different thoughts and opinions. It was where tolerance of different ideas was held in the highest esteem. This has changed drastically.

In the 1960s anti establishment revolution students were granted immense power on university campuses. They were allowed to take over administrative offices, to freely express their Marxist ideas through the media. They had strikes and protests on and off campus to receive publicity and spread their radical progressive ideas among the American people. These anti establishment students became mass media celebrities. Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin were introduced into our living rooms through television. They were socialists who used anarchist tactics. The burning of the American flag, hatred of the military and degrading speech towards anything related to traditional America was their targeted message.

Today the “establishment” is what was then called “anti establishment.” The counter Cultural Revolution was eventually victorious putting the university and the media front and center protecting their sacred progressive ideals. The progressive establishment now will not tolerate the “free speech” of non-Marxists and traditional ideas. The power has shifted and so has the intolerance for free speech.

The 1960 clowns pushed the limits of decent behavior and speech. They are more than hypocrites; they are intolerant repressors of liberty. Conservative speaking engagements are cancelled by minority protests. The presenters who are able to begin their lectures are assaulted by pies and other objects to prevent their ideas from being uttered. Traditional speakers have to hire their own security guards before attempting to give their speeches. Too many dedicated educators refuse to appear at universities due to the physical danger. The freedom of speech on college campuses has been stifled by a united front of tenured Marxist professors and their mass media minions.   

The constant pounding of the message that adopting Marxist ideology would solve all America’s ills has been successful. The vast majority of university students have been absolutely convinced and empowered to be “soldiers of intolerance” advocating for Marxist ideas while preventing any “subversive” traditional ones from being introduced on campus.

According to these brainwashed students there is no more need to have free discussions since the establishment Marxist ideas are absolutely unassailable. Discussion would reopen a consensus that has already been settled. The truth of Marxism is not open for debate. It is the reason why any traditional heretic should be shouted down and removed from any open forum.  

These “soldiers of intolerance” have been armed with political correctness to limit critical thinking. Hate speech is another tool that restricts any non-progressive thinking from entering the arena of ideas. The newest and most frightening weapon is allowing the subjective feelings of these university “student soldiers” to convict a traditional student of politically incorrect speech and thinking. These traditional provocateurs should not be tolerated but vanquished and banned from college campuses. According to this new group think strategy only the believers in Marxism should be permitted to attend college. All students with contrary beliefs should be expelled for their emotionally disturbing beliefs. This guilty before proven innocent is enough for the expulsion of the accused student.

Universities protect their crybaby “student soldiers” by establishing safe spaces for Marxists to regroup when knowledgeable and persuasive non-indoctrinated students challenge them. Using this university strategy the administrators can enlarge the safe spaces to intimidate and reduce the areas allowed for opposing ideas and ultimately offer freedom of speech. The repressive rules of engagement for open debate are crushing students searching for the truth.

The university centers of indoctrination have to be eliminated and replaced with an open forum to encourage the search for knowledge and truth. Any student who assaults or intimidates another for expressing his or her ideas should receive sufficient consequences to stop this behavior or be expelled.  There should be no excuses for impeding free speech by any student regardless of ideological orientation.

Political tolerance of ideas is essential in our Constitutional Republic. Every citizen, Marxist or not should demand it.

Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. You can visit Dr. Maglio at www.drmaglio.blogspot.com.

DC's Suspension Quotas are Qrecking Havoc on our Public Schools

D.C.’s SUSPENSION QUOTAS ARE WRECKING HAVOC ON OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist

The Justice Department and the Department of Education are directly intervening in public schools. On January 8, 2014, President Obama’s administration recommended ending “zero tolerance for violence in the schools.”  In order to accomplish this the Justice department is scrutinizing public schools just like they are doing selectively with local law enforcement throughout the country. The intention is to change enforcing policies to lower black student suspensions in school.

The federal bureaucracies have statistically found that black students are three times more likely to be suspended from school than white students. They have concluded that suspensions lead to a pipeline to prison for these students. Progressives have interpreted this as systematic public school discrimination against blacks. The solution by intrusive federal investigators to lower suspensions is to intimidate local school officials and local education board members with threats of losing federal funds.

An incident in South Carolina where a police officer attempted to pull a disruptive female student from her chair was splashed across the media. It was to demonstrate the violence of the police against black teenagers. The fact of the situation was that neither the assistant principal nor the principal could get the disruptive girl to cooperate and gave the problem over to the police officer to handle.

The disruptive female student refused to comply. It was only after these failed interventions by the administrators that the resource officer resorted to physically removing her from the classroom. The so called “excessive force” by the police officer was the result of the defiant student’s behavior that escalated until the officer needed to drag her from the chair.  In a cowardly performance the superintendent of the school district threw the officer under the bus by firing him. The federal bureaucrats are being effective in reshaping local school policy by thuggery.

This federal approach has had the same impact on suspensions as it has in law enforcement where the “Ferguson Effect” has lowered arrests while local crime has significantly increased. The suspension of black students has significantly decreased by half in many districts while disruptions and violent behavior are up. Federal intervention in local school affairs will change what was developed over time as the best local practices into a new operation procedure. The problem with this process of calling the shots from DC to force a change in these procedures does not solve the root issue of providing a safe education environment for students to learn.

It is verifiable that suspensions have decreased but making these acting out, disruptive students becoming better behaved is not being addressed or tracked. Teachers have stopped requesting suspensions because they understand their personal consequences for their reporting them. These requests for suspensions have to go to an area supervisor who is under pressure to meet the federal quotas. Invariably the teachers overlook offences to maintain their positions.

Many of the infractions like threatening or even assaulting teachers and students, disobeying commands, using cell phones in class, wandering in the halls, pushing, and wearing inappropriate attire are being overlooked and are becoming rampant. The excellent students have become targets making learning almost impossible. The less motivated students attempt to blend in by imitating the thugs’ behavior instead of being assaulted.  These students would not have acted out in a more disciplined environment. Disrespect and chaos are spreading.

This lack of reporting of offences emboldens the anti social students to increase their acting-out making the school climate more dangerous and frightening to all students especially those who want to do well in school. The bureaucratic administrators will explain away the increase in chaos. They will do this in the same way all failed federal programs have been explained over decades. A spokesperson will state that the chaos is caused by a lack of sufficient funding to schools for more personnel and increases in salaries for additional specialists.

This is always the reason given for any problem. Only if there were more psychologists, assistant principals, social workers, guidance counselors, teaching training programs, the quota system for suspensions would work. The fallback position of being under funded is becoming increasingly hard to swallow. We spend more total money on education than any other nation.

It is not about the lack of money but how we are using our immense resources. The pertinent issue is the intrusion by the feds into our local public schools further disrupting them from offering a quality education. The hand of the feds meddling in local schools will end any hope of returning to a wholesome education. The federal government is solidifying their power to micromanage all aspects of education and other institutions.

This approach in public education is frightening as there are no checks and balances to protect the rights of students, parents and teachers. That is needed to ensure a quality education from these federal bureaucrats. Our schools are supposed to be locally controlled according to our constitution to efficiently meet the needs of local communities, students and parents.

Without local control our schools will rapidly become indoctrination centers of the all powerful central government.  This should be stopped and reversed. It will only happen by the strong voice of the people.

Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. You can visit Dr. Maglio at www.drmaglio.blogspot.com.

THE TEA PARTY AND CONVERTS HAVE CHANGED POLITICS

THE TEA PARTY AND CONVERTS HAVE CHANGED POLITICS

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist

The political elites have been wrong over and over again in this political season. They say Donald Trump will lose his lead in the polls after every politically incorrect statement he makes. He continues to befuddle the pundits as a political outsider. The other outsiders: Ben Carson, surgeon; Carly Fiorina, business woman are dropping and Tea Party candidates, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are moving up in the polls.

The political establishment candidates: Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and others have remained behind the outsiders. It is driving the establishment insane. They believe they have the ordained right to anoint anyone they choose. The ruling class does not comprehend why their power is not absolute.

The reason is so obvious but it is not being touched with a ten-foot pole by any of these all-knowing “experts.” Millions of Americans marched various times in Washington, D.C. and throughout in the country. This movement became known as “The Tea Party.” It was denounced at every turn not only by the democrats and media but also the republican establishment. They were lambasted as a bunch of old white, naïve, kooks, racists, religious fanatics, uneducated rednecks and many more derogatory terms.

The mainstream media played down the millions of Tea Party marchers.  It was not newsworthy according to the progressive media.  When it was mentioned the media  focused on obnoxious behavior who were reported to be Tea Party members even though they were not. They were members of the fringe LaRouche party who were armed with inappropriate anti-Obama posters. These imposters were booed down by Tea Party Members, which was not reported. All the media misinformation was part of their effort to discredit this grassroots movement.

These marches were orderly and spotlessly clean events with families and people of every socio economic, racial, ethnic background and age. It was and is truly an energetic grassroots movement that grew from frustration of both party politicians saying one thing to voters then doing the opposite when they got into power.

The Tea Party disappeared from the mainstream media. There was a change of tactics by individual members who focused on using the Internet to disperse information or appear on conservative radio and television shows. They donated money to get the word out to the American public. Furthermore they appeared at local political events speaking openly to family, friends and anyone who would listen. They were actively energizing the grass roots. The Tea Party highlighted the arrogance of the ruling class’s disregard for the citizen’s concerns.

This spontaneous movement did not die as many progressives had hoped and continue to hope. It continued to grow as a viable alternative to the political establishment. The results are shocking the leaders of both political parties. Regardless of their political affiliation the American people are now aware that the professional politicians care about one thing: staying in power in D.C. The game of the republican or democrat party being significantly different from each other has been exposed.

Americans do not want eloquent words. They are demanding things get accomplished for the benefit of the people. They now insist on a doer, a leader who will get things back in order and back on track. The problems of illegal immigrant, growing government our huge debt, our incoherent foreign policy, international corporation corporate welfare all have to be resolved with strong common sense solutions not progressive rhetoric.

The people have been awakened and will not accept more of the same. These politically self-educated citizens are in search of a president. They expect all our representatives to work for the good of all America, not their own reelection or self-interest.  Like it or not the political establishment is realizing the Tea Party grassroots has increased exponentially spreading across party lines.

New converts to the principles of this movement were not and still are not acknowledged or recognized by the ruling class. These elites are in a state of panic about how this will affect their ability to control this election and future governments.

The full impact of the movement away from establishment politics will be more fully known only after the presidential election. Nevertheless the shockwaves are already being felt.

This presidential election will be a seismic event that hopefully changes the direction of American policies. By citizens doing their civic duty of politically educating themselves we will be placed again on a solid foundation. Our nation will be able to make a quantum leap forward in leadership for not only America but the free world.

Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. You can visit Dr. Maglio at www.drmaglio.blogspot.com.