By Selwyn Duke

With all the trappings of modernity — our technology, bells and whistles — it’s easy to believe we’re civilized.  The truth is quite the opposite.  It just seems that for about a half a century now, while our technology has grown in leaps and bounds, our wisdom has declined almost as fast.

I think of this because of an experience I had Easter Sunday.  Someone close to me related a story about how a neighbor’s child was over at her place and used a profane word.  She was surprised upon hearing it, and registered this with a different neighbor, one who happened to be within earshot.  His response was, "Well, so what?  They’re going to learn them anyway."

That’s interesting logic.  Since they’re all going to learn about perversion anyway, I suppose it doesn’t matter if we expose them to pornography, the S & M set or flashers in the naked city.  Since they’re going to learn about meanness anyway, perhaps it doesn’t matter if they’re mean (the self-esteem police ought to love that).  And since they’re all going to learn racial epithets anyway, it doesn’t matter if they use them.

Could you imagine how much better the world would be if people actually thought before they spoke?  It’s not a virtue when one’s mouth is one step ahead of his brain.

The point is that while children will be exposed to all manner and form of vice, you don’t want them to become vice-ridden.  Thus, the issue is not whether they will learn of vice, but whether they will learn it is vice.

So it is with all things.  We would expect kids to learn about murder, but we would also expect them to get  the message that it’s not to be done. 

Anyway, if you find yourself in such a situation and are fond of making points in powerful ways, consider the following response:

"Yeah, I know what you’re saying.  I mean, I heard them use the word "nigger" before and thought about saying something.  But then I figured, what the heck.  They’re going to learn it anyway, right?" 

That’s what you call a conversation starter and a conversation ender. 

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