A heart-warming story

Discussion
1

Jeanie,

  Good points... I don't see anything to be enthusiastic about in the
mere fact of a child following in her father's (or mother's) footsteps
either. The idea that fruit not falling far from the tree that bore it
is something to be celebrated is an intensely conservative notion -- a
resistance to the idea of change. But parental influences aside, I
still like the story for the fact that the kid's impulses were good,
and she acted on them successfully.

Yours in liberty,
        <<< Starchild >>>

Starchild-

Sometimes I know I must seem the contrarian ready to disagree with
everyone...
(okay, I plead guilty... hail Eris!)

But seriosuly, I feel a little mixed feelings here. I think it's
wonderful
that a 5th grader
showed the spunk, independence, and courage you mention, not to
mention the
talent for activism and outreach. I admire her greatly, and wish more
were
like her.
I don't remember amy of her spirit when I was is school, much to my
sorrow.
  That part
was wonderful, though 'heartwarming' isn;t the emotion I personally
would
describe.

But I feel far less enthusiastic about pride that a child followed in
her
father's
footsteps. Certainly, there's no harm in the accident ofone's parents
having good
ideas. But if one is to live a worthwhile life, one should not accept
anything one's parents tell
you juse because of that accident of genetic relation. The nut should
not
fall far or near from
the tree, but walk where it chooses. The wierdness of this metaphor
serves
to underscore the
fact that human beings have excellences other that those of vegetables.

I don't think that if you (or the author of this article) knew *my*
father,
anyone would
advocate that I should have stayed "close to the tree". But I say that
foolishly... plenty
of people have said as much to me. Anyway, the point is it that the
insistence of practically
all cultures on keeping close to the values of one's parents is a slap
in
the face of reason.
I don't think it will change, because there are sociological pressures
that
will likely keep this
pattern going more or less forever. But I wouldn't celebrate it.

Please, Starchild, I too love your example, but I feel a pang of dread
when
I think of the
poison folded into the leaf here. Isn't it the independence of the
child
vs. the political
mainstream rather that her concurrence wua concurrence wich the views
of her
father?
My father was a neoconservative, Should I therefore have been a
neoconservative?
(I gaurantee being a transgendered female prostitute and a feminist
libertarian was not
something on his agenda for me.)

Jeanie

"If their lives were exotic and strange...
they would likely have gladly exchanged them
     for something, a little more plain;
     maybe something, a little more sane...
We each pay a fabulous price
for our visions of Paradise
but the Spirit...
               of a Vision...
                              is a Dream..."
- Rush, 'Mission'

From: Starchild <sfdreamer@earthlink.net>
Reply-To: lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com
To: LPSF Discussion List <lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com>, California
Liberty
<ca-liberty@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [lpsf-discuss] A heart-warming story
Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2004 18:22:33 -0700

From: "Richard E." <richedgar@hotmail.com>
Date: Tue Sep 21, 2004 6:21:57 AM US/Pacific
To: badnarik2004@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [badnarik2004] 5th grader's for Badnarik!
Reply-To: jay@redgar.com

My ten year old daughter, Melissa, called me at work yesterday to
tell me
about her day and made me very proud of her.

Her fifth grade class is studying the elections and was told that
there
were
to break into two groups with each group representing either Bush or
Kerry.
They were to decide which group they wanted to be in, and then have
debates
on which of the two presidential candidates should win. My daughter
went
to
the teacher and complained that it wasn't fair to only have the two
parties
and asked if she instead could form a Libertarian group representing
Michael
Badnarik.

The teacher agreed as long as Melissa did some research on the party
and
Badnarik. By the time I saw her that evening she had typed up a very
good
description of the Libertarian party and Badnarik to present in
school
today. She says she has talked many of her friends into joining the
Libertarian group already.

The nut doesn't fall far from the tree.

R. Jay Edgar

------------------------------------------------------------
For real solutions to real problems in the 4th Congressional district
visit
http://redgar.com

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