Author Archives: victoriam

Technology has been a true blessing as life has improved immensely with so many possibilities at the fingertips of consumers. Unfortunately, as the ease of life has increased, the safety of automobile drivers and passengers has decreased with the overuse of cellular phones by people at the wheel. While drivers believe using a phone as they drive is not necessarily an issue, they neglect to consider the other citizens on the road that they may be putting in danger. Even when not under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, a telephone-preoccupied driver places himself in danger and also infringes on the life of another.

When a man feels that his life, liberty, or property is threatened, he has the absolute right to declare a state of war between himself and his abuser. Even though a driver may have no wrong intention and does not purposefully mean to inflict harm on another, the simple act of him using a device that pulls his attention from the road indirectly infringes on another man’s rights. If a man chooses to place himself in danger with the distraction of a cellular phone, he must come to terms with himself that he is not only risking his own life, but the lives of other men and their wives and children. All living men are to be preserved as much as possible, as in the state of nature, and if one man feels threatened by another, the harmed, or the innocent, will be sanctioned.

The American government provides goods in the form of public roads and it is completely undeniable that we, as citizens under God, should treat roads and drivers with utmost respect and prevent danger. Because driving a car and using a cell phone, whether it be to send text messages or to speak on the phone, is so hazardous to multiple persons, it is without a doubt, an element of public discourse and demands involvement of state legislature. As cell phone use while driving occurs on government provided goods, public roads, the US government should be, and must be, involved in the prevention of the destruction of its citizens.

At this moment and time, sending text messages are punishable by law in 46 US states and in 37 states, all novice or teenage drivers under the age of 19 are banned from hand-held cell phone usage. It is understandable, of course, why it is that young drivers are unable to be entrusted with the task of driving while distracted. Young men, under the govern of their fathers with no land of their own, remain in the state of nature and are not experienced enough as their seniors who have been behind the wheel for years prior. Even as there are not many laws that completely ban the use of hand-held devices for adults as there are for young drivers, there are some select cities that have progressed in the prevention of harm.

In modern day America, there is an unfortunate emphasis on development as a culture, as a society, as a collective group, and as a country. To outsiders, this emphasis can be depicted as practical and necessary, yet there is an unjust dismissal of individuals at all ages. How, I might ask, is it beneficial to raise our own expectations of young children, who remain under the power of their fathers, who are not born with the capability of adult reasoning, to be responsible for a range of subjects and ideas that they may not be capable of understanding at a very young age? Now, I am not suggesting that all children are unable to master basic reading and counting, but it should be fairly evident that not all children’s minds develop at a similar rate as some may succeed at one subject while they struggle with others. I hope to bring into conversation the impact of curriculum based pre-school as a result of standardized testing and the possibility of straying from that in an attempt to strengthen both civil society and the common child.

As the country ages, the expectations for young children are raised and their childish nature is replaced with logic and although these beliefs are usually put into practice, I consider it to be a threat to man’s state of nature. For over fifty years, standardized testing has dominated US education as a means to assess knowledge from students as young as elementary school age. The idea that eight-year old children are expected to be examined at a standard national scale is understandable in order to monitor the nation’s progress as a whole, yet individualized growth is seen as unimportant. Childhood educator and author Erika Christakis advocates for unscripted pre-school as she states, “… teachers need to take the time to listen to children’s stories, to laugh with them… this kind of respectful observation of what children can (and can’t) do is rare in early childhood settings, where instead too many children receive calibrated doses of highly scripted, one-size-fits-all instruction on boring themes…” One-on-one contact, along with freedom to explore their own cognitive and creative abilities will keep children interested in school and lead to motivation that will push them to pursue higher education and contribute positively to civil society.

I have made the point that a child’s natural state of imagination and creativity is disregarded in the favor of logic, but this change can be combated if less structured play in the classroom was favored over usual class curriculums. The practice of pre-school play as opposed to a scripted curriculum encourages autonomy and acknowledges the obvious truth that we, as humans under God, are not created with equal abilities nor are we developmentally able to distinguish the letter ‘C’ from the letter ‘O’ at age four.

It is evident that pre-school education is an element of public discourse as an educated child grows and contributes to civil society as a future landowner, yet legislation concerning early childhood education fails to consider the negative and personal repercussions of such a high-stress environment on a young, impressionable mind. Education Expert Alfie Kohn states, “Imposing our will on them (on the basis of their immaturity) makes it less likely they’ll acquire the very social and moral dispositions whose absence we’ve used to justify such treatment.” At this moment in time, this nation’s early schooling prepares children for the obscene amount of exams they will endure in their near future, yet they are not taught and allowed to explore life skills. Through unscripted play, or exploration and skill mastery, a developing child in the state of nature will not only discover the power to reason and rationalize like the father before him, but he will also grow and contribute to the civil society he was brought into at birth.

Sources:

http://news.yale.edu/2016/02/09/preschoolers-need-more-play-and-fewer-scripted-lessons-says-early-childhood-educator-erik

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alfie-kohn/do-our-expectations-of-kids-aim-too-high-or-too-low_b_11874868.html