By Selwyn Duke

Spare the rod, spoil the child.  There’s an interesting news piece today about British parents who send their delinquent children to a school in Ghana to be set straight.

These students, many of whom are thugs and gang members, are sent to Faith Montessori boarding school in Accra, Ghana’s
capital.  The institution was founded by one Oswald Amoo-Gottfried, whose philosophy is described in the news piece as follows:

"The key
to the success of pupils . . . is the kind of discipline that has
long since fallen out of fashion in Britain. ‘I believe in caning,’ he
declared. ‘I tell the parents: if you don’t want your child punished, then
your child doesn’t belong here.’"

A wise man indeed.  Of course, his attitude isn’t unusual in places such as Africa where the "enlightening" effect of political correctness hasn’t been fully felt.  It’s sad, though, that Western countries have become so effete that they can no longer enforce basic standards as well as the Third World can.  Why can we not apply a switch to disobedient derrieres?  The short answer — without delving into the spiritual basis of our weakness — is that punishment has become a dirty word.

In fact, so averse are we to its use that we conjure up euphemisms such as "time-out."  Now, if the extremely ridiculous "time-out" (the psycho-babbler whose brainchild it is must be puffed up with pride) is effective at all, it’s only because it induces some measure of emotional pain.  And this means . . . guess what?

It’s simply a form of punishment. 

I hate to break it to you (not really), but that’s the truth.  And, if you ever hear this writer utter "time out," you can be sure he is involved in some kind of sporting event.

Oh, the word punishment sounds too harsh?  Yes, that’s the whole idea.  If you mean for what it describes to be effective, it’s only fitting that the word should have an impact.  More significantly, the term has only come to be seen as harsh because it has long been associated with what it describes; thus, its meaning and the feelings its utterance evokes are congruent, which is as it should be.

But we really have become insane.  I have even heard people — I’ll let you guess what their ideological orientation is — who maintain that punishment doesn’t work.  If you believe that, please visit Singapore and vandalize some cars as teenager Michael Faye did.  Then, like him, you’ll not only discover what true punishment is, I think you also may experience an epiphany about its effects.  Oh, by the way, there’s virtually no crime in Singapore.

Then, people often wonder which is more effective: Punishment or rehabilitation?  That is, when they’re open-minded about the subject at all.  Here is the truth: Punishment is rehabilitation.

Why?  When a person is punished effectively and consistently and forced to do right, it tends to bring about inner transformation.  First, it sends a clear message about right and wrong, thereby teaching moral lessons.  Second, when the individual does right on a consistent basis — even if it’s due to fear of consequences — he often realizes something.  To wit: It makes you feel better to do right than wrong.  Once this realization occurs, the person starts to do right of his own volition.  This is called moral and spiritual growth.

Does it work in every case?  Well, "As the twig is bent, so grows the tree."  So, I will say that if a person has matured and is hardened and is part of that intractable minority, perhaps it may not.  That’s why we have prisons.  But I do believe that if discipline, love and Truth are provided in abundance starting at birth, anyone can grow to be a saint. 

Regardless, this is how man operates, generally speaking.  So, if you’ve been taught to eschew punishment, put aside the worn-out ideology, open your mind and heart and accept the principles that govern humanity.  You’ll reap the benefits.  You’ll be able to raise better children and identify the kind of public officials who will fight crime more effectively.

Punishment is not a dirty word.  When animated by the right motivations and practiced properly, it is more synonymous with a most beautiful one: Love.

Oh, and lest anyone fancy himself far too civilized to administer corporal punishment, don’t fool yourself.  You’re not compassionate. 

You’re just weak.