Slow Children Left Behind: A Practical Education For The World As It Is

Foreward

Our youths are being lied to—perhaps these lies are a product of people wanting to do good, perhaps they are not. Regardless of motivations, we are setting our rising-generations up for undo hardship. I believe wholeheartedly in allowing the young the opportunity to be young, but that should not come at the cost of them being misinformed.

The fictional monologue to follow was written for the purpose of exemplifying the type of information that we should be providing to our developing minds as they attempt to learn for themselves who—and where—they are.

[Photo made available for use by "Geralt" through the Pixabay Creative Commons library.]

Pragmatic Words For A Growing Mind

"Listen kid, you're being failed by the people who claim to be helping you. For that, I'm sorry, and I'll attempt to do my part in righting the wrongs that are being done to you. Our educational system is critically lacking, and the problem doesn't simply lie with our schools or the people you're told to call your teachers. The problem lies in our homes, our lifestyles, and our societal environment as a whole.


Most of the kids that you're growing up with now are being led to dig themselves into a psychological hole that they will be swiftly abandoned in upon reaching legal taxpayer age. They'll be left there to either lose themselves to its depths, or work independently to debunk all of the false information they've been fed and thereby slowly dig their own ways out. The latter of the two options is the less likely to be realized.


This, unfortunately, is no accident. This seemingly inept system is, in reality, is a well-planned and even better executed campaign to create an endless supply of "willful slaves" to serve the greater corporate and governmental mission. But, I digress; we're not here to talk about conspiracy theory—although, you're not too young to begin pondering the ideas of power, corruption, and motivation.


Before I begin in earnest, let me make it perfectly clear to you that all of this information is one man's opinion, namely my own. It's my personal life experience coupled with my own way of thinking that has led me to believe the things I am about to communicate to you. The important thing for you is to begin thinking about these concepts for yourself so you can use them to form your own ideas.


I know you're not going to digest all of this information in one shot; be that as it may, I'm not accepting questions today—I don't have that kind of time to spend on you. I will make sure you get a transcript of this dialogue after I finish—of course I would encourage you to hold onto it for a while, but what you do with it is up to you. You can keep it and work with it, or you can light it on fire in the neighbor's mailbox; we'll chalk your decision up to Intellectual Darwinism.


Now, let's start at the start:


Firstly, you're not an infinitely capable being and many of your dreams are not, and never will be, attainable. The truth is, you're limited. You've got strengths, you've got weaknesses, and you've got free will—which you will be allowed to act on only to a limited extent. You can't become anything you want to be—that doesn't mean you won't become what you want to be, it's just important to know that not all doors will be open to you and the only thing you can, and should, do about it is accept it.


You know that shit they try to feed you about all humans being created equal? It’s a lie. None of us are equal, we're all different and we're all the same—I know on the surface that seems to be a contradictory statement, just keep it in your mind, you'll understand it later—but some of us have it worse, and some of us have it better. Some of us are strong, smart, and healthy—and some of us aren't. Some of us are born into naturally advantageous conditions with the right colored skin, in the right neighborhood, to the right family—and some of us aren't. It's the luck of the draw; life isn't fair and it won't ever be fair. The sooner you learn to live with that, the better off you'll be.


Those shows you watch where the good guys always win—that's bullshit too. It's fine to keep watching and enjoying your shows, just know that it's entertainment created for the sake of turning a profit—nothing more. In the real world, good doesn't triumph over evil. Good and evil live in concert with each other in a perpetual state of codependence; and the two often trade clothes to disguise themselves as the other, so don't be too quick to judge which one is standing in front of you.


Objectivity, perspective, and empathy. These are pivotal concepts to practice and integrate into your life.


A simple explanation of objectivity: The ability to look at and analyze information without ascribing emotion or personal bias to it, i.e., receive information as it is without distorting it to fit what you think it should be.


A simple explanation of perspective: You are the only one who views information and thinks the way that you do; we all see the world through our own set of eyes and with our own way of thinking that has been molded by our unique set of experiences. Always be conscious of that and allow yourself to entertain and access viewpoints outside of your own.


A simple explanation of empathy: The ability to acknowledge, understand, and accept that the actions, feelings, and ideas of others will deviate from your own because their environmental conditioning, the workings of their individual minds, and their life experiences are all different from your own. Perspective and empathy work in tandem with each other.


Authority figures and influencers are not to be looked up to simply because of their positions, nor are their words to be taken simply due to their titles. We are too easily influenced by people in positions that we perceive as being higher than our own station. Receive the messages they deliver, but also be wary of them, as they are in a position that lends itself to being manipulative.


Freedom: kid, this is the biggest lie of them all. You're not free, none of us are free. We're free to do as we're told, free to pay up when the bill hits our doorstep, and you'll be allowed the freedom to spend your time and efforts however you wish to spend them only if they fall in accordance with the rules as defined by our sickly, societal construct and governmental agency.


The history that's taught at you and news that’s served to you is largely fictitious. When you hear a story, ask yourself who had the luxury of writing it, who was in power when/where it was written, where and how did they source their information, and what was their motivation for delivering their account of the events? Rather than taking stories for their literal content, discern the why of the story—the motivations behind it. That will teach you far more about history and humanity than you'll ever learn from the words that make up the text.


Dogmatism is fear's ally and the enemy of thought and development. I strongly caution you against any faction or scripture that replaces questions with answers and independent thought with faithful following.


You'll find that the majority of people spend their time projecting their thoughts onto the outside world, but rarely cast a discerning eye inwards at themselves. Be diligent in learning about yourself, be comfortable in the solitude of your own presence. Explore your own mind and work to know yourself.


Do not allow other people's fears, biases, and mental limitations to influence your life decisions. If you seek to do or achieve something that lies outside the comfort zones of the people around you, they will put your ideas down and discourage you from your pursuit. Distance yourself from the presence of people who would try to hinder your growth.


Perform your own fact checking. Nothing is fact until you have personally verified the information that makes it so. If it is impossible for you to verify, consider accepting the information as something less-than-fact, or as something that only approaches factuality, depending on where and how the information was sourced.


Do not allow yourself to become complacent by dedicating yourself only to your natural strengths. In many cases you can—and in some cases will—become good at the things you initially struggle with if you're willing to work at them and are personally motivated to improve yourself.


Failing doesn't make you a failure, it's a necessary part of learning and growing. Winning doesn't make you a higher being. Allow your confidence to live and grow in accordance with your humility. If you're winning too easily, too often, ask yourself if you are permitting yourself to grow and be challenged or if you're holding yourself back because it feels safe.


Always bear in mind that all things as they relate to human experience are impermanent. I say again, all things as they relate to human experience are impermanent.


What you do have available to you, if you're one of the luckier ones—or maybe one of the unlucky ones, the answer to that question isn't always clear to me—is the power of reason. You can—through dedication, diligence, and discipline—begin to master your own thoughts and start to truly think for yourself to the extent that it is possible. It is freedom of thought that is the greatest freedom you can hope to achieve.


I encourage you to work with these concepts diligently and continuously."

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