Decisions, decisions

And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?  Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Deut 4:8-9 (NIV)


I am scared for the next generation and their inability to make decisions.  I am a little nervous about my future ability to make my own decisions.  I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer or a naysayer or whatever, and I don't often jump on political bandwagons or this-is-the-end-of-the-world-campaigns, but two things worry me: a) personal decisions are being taken away from us, and b) as a result, our children aren't being taught how to make decisions.

You know how you hear all kinds of things about new laws coming down the pike or about how soon you won't be able to do this or that.  A while back, my daughter told me she had heard (you know how that goes) that in a couple years cars will not have radios in them because they will be too much of a distraction.  Oh good grief.  Now, I have no idea where she heard this or if it has any truth to it whatsoever, but it got me thinking...are we really going in that direction?  Where a person will not have the personal choice to decide whether or not a radio in the car is too distracting?

This is where parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, preachers, youth leaders, 4H leaders, coaches and other role models come in.  I know as a parent, it is MY duty to teach my kids all sorts of things that they will need to be able to lead independent, productive lives.  One factor in those teachings is the Bible and Christ, of course, but there are lots and lots of other subjects that we need to share with our children and teach our children about because a) someone else will or b) they won't learn about it at all. 

I have never been one of those over-the-top-super-protective parents.  I admit it.  If my son or daughter is doing something semi-dangerous and I see it, sure, I tell them to stop...but if they don't stop and I can see that something is going to happen, most of the time (unless it is super serious) I let them continue on because the inevitable is going to happen and maybe, just maybe, they will learn not to do that again because, gee, my mom isn't such an idiot and that hurt.  It's kinda like touching the hot stove once and getting burnt, you are not as likely to go back and play around the fire-hot stove now, are you?

We call them life lessons at our house. Jay and I believe that one of the most important jobs in raising our kids is to teach them how to make decisions (hopefully good ones); to accept the consequences of the bad decisions and also reap the benefits of the good ones.   Our children need to be able to make good, solid decisions in life because they are going to be out there soon enough trying to muddle through life in whatever condition the world is in at the time. 

I realize that I'm a control-freak.  That is my personality.  I like to plan and know what's going on and what's going to happen.  But I realize that I have to let go of some of that control so that my kids can grow and learn.  My hope is that they'll learn valuable lessons from the mistakes they're likely to make.  They won't be pretty and I will have to remember that when the time comes, but if I don't let them make their own decisions when it's reasonable, they will never learn.

But the government telling me that I am not capable of listening to a radio in my car as I drive down the road?  What next?  I have to be responsible and wise enough to say, okay, this radio is distracting me as I drive, I will turn it off or turn it down, etc.  I know when I get in a super tense driving situation, whether it be ice, fog or a hard rain, I will turn off the radio so I can give 100% of my attention to the road.  (Somehow, I have learned to do that.)  They've got the laws for new drivers so strict, I'm not sure how they keep them all straight. There is no telling what laws for new drivers will be like when Madolyn is 16, just four short years away.

Check out the recent changes in the Child Labor Law sometime.  Holy smokes, one of these days we'll be paying our own children to do nothing around the house because asking them to do work for the household's benefit would be a violation of their rights.  I know there are children working under unacceptable conditions all over the world, and even in this country, but honestly, how far will this go?

I am sorry this is sounding like a political rant because I'm really not a political person.  I just worry about the future for our children and their children if we are not teaching them to make good decisions and to take responsibility for themselves and their actions, and I also don't want to see the day come where we aren't allowed to make our own decisions.  And hey, I like to sing like a rockstar in the car, but I need a little music to back me up...if I don't have a radio in the car, what am I going to do as I barrell down the road?  Paint my nails and proofread transcripts...oh, yeah, I've done that before too.  I would suggest they outlaw that before the radio.