I am a member of a lot of different "natural" groups. I really enjoy it for the most part, but I have one complaint. You see, it seems to me as if there is the ideal of the perfect natural mother: she practices attachment parenting, unschools (not just homeschools), is a homesteader living off the grid on no electricity, vegan.... The list goes on. The problem I have, is that while I see value in parts of each of these philosophies, I also believe that each carries itself to an unwarranted extreme.
To take the last first, veganism-- the ultimate extreme of vegetarianism. I understand that while some people have a moral objection to the taking of a life for food, many espouse the concept of veganism for supposed health benefits. First of all, I have no moral objection to killing for food. It is one of those facts of life. The circle of life is a real thing. Animals kill to survive themselves. It is Nature, and Nature isn't always nice, pretty or Utopian. It is raw, real and powerful. I think it is awesome in It's beauty and majesty.
Now, I think in many ways humans have tried to remove themselves from the circle of life citing a superiority over the animals due to logic and reasoning. To a certain extent, this is true, but I see people removing themselves in all the wrong ways. It is abhorrent to them to contemplate death, and so they embalm themselves (alive or dead) in an attempt to delay a very natural process that WILL occur.
No, my objection is to waste. To waste a life is a horrendous thing. I believe that we should be responsible in our use, but quite frankly do disregard all use is irresponsible in many cases in the opposite extreme. If you do not want animals abused, buy from local farmers where you can see the process. It takes more work, but being responsible often does.
Attachment parenting is another pet peeve of mine. I love many things about it, and wholeheartedly practice many of their principles, but there is a HUGE insurmountable drawback to their teachings. I do not believe they take into account the concept of having a large family. I believe that having a large family is so important, that having many children is a benefit not only to the parents but to the children. I believe that it helps them be better mannered, more creative, more curious, helps learning occur more naturally, I could go on and on.
Actually, I rarely embrace all of any teaching. In my opinion most of them go overboard in one direction or another. They come from people and all people (including *gasp* myself) are fallible and therefore not reliable as concrete resources.
The other thing that these parenting philosophies do not understand is that children are different. What works, and works well for one child might not work at all for another.
I guess what it boils down to is judging others by your own desires. Really. Natural groups want to all be alike in their membership, and so I am too normal for them, and too strange for normal. I guess I will just have to be myself.
To take the last first, veganism-- the ultimate extreme of vegetarianism. I understand that while some people have a moral objection to the taking of a life for food, many espouse the concept of veganism for supposed health benefits. First of all, I have no moral objection to killing for food. It is one of those facts of life. The circle of life is a real thing. Animals kill to survive themselves. It is Nature, and Nature isn't always nice, pretty or Utopian. It is raw, real and powerful. I think it is awesome in It's beauty and majesty.
Now, I think in many ways humans have tried to remove themselves from the circle of life citing a superiority over the animals due to logic and reasoning. To a certain extent, this is true, but I see people removing themselves in all the wrong ways. It is abhorrent to them to contemplate death, and so they embalm themselves (alive or dead) in an attempt to delay a very natural process that WILL occur.
No, my objection is to waste. To waste a life is a horrendous thing. I believe that we should be responsible in our use, but quite frankly do disregard all use is irresponsible in many cases in the opposite extreme. If you do not want animals abused, buy from local farmers where you can see the process. It takes more work, but being responsible often does.
Attachment parenting is another pet peeve of mine. I love many things about it, and wholeheartedly practice many of their principles, but there is a HUGE insurmountable drawback to their teachings. I do not believe they take into account the concept of having a large family. I believe that having a large family is so important, that having many children is a benefit not only to the parents but to the children. I believe that it helps them be better mannered, more creative, more curious, helps learning occur more naturally, I could go on and on.
Actually, I rarely embrace all of any teaching. In my opinion most of them go overboard in one direction or another. They come from people and all people (including *gasp* myself) are fallible and therefore not reliable as concrete resources.
The other thing that these parenting philosophies do not understand is that children are different. What works, and works well for one child might not work at all for another.
I guess what it boils down to is judging others by your own desires. Really. Natural groups want to all be alike in their membership, and so I am too normal for them, and too strange for normal. I guess I will just have to be myself.
posted by Ramona | 8:32 AM
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