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The tools of propaganda advancing this whole 'maturing' campaign are simple enough, scapegoating and co-optation. The latter process involves the re-purposing of inherit traits – what we will refer to as childlike characteristics. To overview bullet point, these include playfulness, honesty, and curiosity. The scapegoating, on the other hand, is a bit more psychological, for it is not so much an issue of ignorant accusation as it is a realization of the defense mechanism known as projection.
What we will refer to as childish characteristics, such as being selfish, whiny, and disrespectful, are nothing more than products of capitalism. Hypocritically they are taught, indirectly yet heavily, to children only to be verbally discouraged by proponents of the same system. Children become the scapegoat for our own inhumane and unnatural traits. A father working downtown legal aiding for oil companies scolds his son for maintaining a dirty room, or rather failing to keep a clean environment. As further examples and rhetorical questions shall illustrate, the paradox is quite obvious. To complete the desire to escape from youth, another vernacular tactic is employed. In classic capitalist classification style, we attribute all behavior (the good, the bad, and the natural) specific to children as being childish, that is, undesirable. The fact that adults do not climb trees is reason enough for now.
To be young is to be natural. While the escape from the womb represents the starting point for modern man in his tale of growth, it signifies the beginning of another process; retreat from natural processes. For how things are, is not as they are intended to be. |
The act of giving birth itself is no longer natural. Sanograms, pain killers, doctors, and the hospital itself are all inventions of man. Born into a state of professionalism, bureaucracy, and liability from the get go. And then come the luxuries: clothing, carpools, bunk beds, preschools, and table manners. The more a child ages, the greater that child's exposure to things man-made. Therefore, young is natural.
By emulating the actions, attitudes, and products of adults we lose our pile (natural) inclinations, or what has been dubbed childlike characteristics. But not entirely, for innate tendencies never die, they are simply replaced. Which is exactly what happens as we grow up. The honest activities of our youth are replaced by efficient machine-like operations of capitalism. Time to elaborate upon the three aforementioned characteristics that exemplify the co-opting process: playfulness, honesty, and curiosity. (Note: the concept of 'child' is most effective when applied to an individual ranging from 4 to 11. Anyone younger is limited in their range of play due to lack of physical and cognitive abilities. Anyone older has simply been too influenced by the system of maturing that is under question. Please mind any generalizing.) play To understand the process of play, one can not rely solely upon activity classification. The act of running is much different for your average eight year old and say Carl Lewis. The same can be said of playing cards, dress-up, or drawing. For the world series of poker could not be any more different than 'Go Fish!' An |
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