Quote:
Originally Posted by Blue
I actually had just this conversation with a friend of mine recently. The fact that people twist the minds of children to benefit their own biased views of life sickens me, because that child has no chance and his/her mind will be completely warped. Though it's hard to say that because at the same time, those people probably feel they're doing good, because if they didn't preach Christianity (or whatever belief), they'd be "wrong" as parents. Also, without even trying, your kids will emulate you to some respect, so in some ways you're always casting your beliefs on them.
But anyways, overall I agree completely. It's almost as if you're robbing that person of their life before they even have the choice. How can there be a bigger crime then that?
|
I wrestled with this idea quite a bit, too. Not just in the sense of religion, but parental and societal influences in general. At one point, I realized that I've had very little control of my life. My parents never pressed their religion (buddhism) on me, but I chose to practice with them up until a few years ago. Even if they didn't, their personalities, habits and lives will forever be an influencial factor in mine - consciously or subsonsciously. Not only that, but the environment and society I was exposed to had definitely shaped me in some sort of way. It was not until I was 17 years old that I realized I was able to rebel and be my own person. I still, to this day, struggle with the idea that no thoughts are original (not even these). What we argue, say, express, fight for has been done before. Life is the epitome of "History repeats itself." Though some of what we say is worthy of repetition, with it comes the whole picture, including religion, war, power and poverty.