subtitled:  an allegory featuring children who were never disciplined properly

Educating and raising kids is a serious business.  First, kids become adults and will control the future.  Next, the adults of tomorrow will be our doctors, teachers, lawyers, and governmentors. Is that like…velociraptors?  And finally, they can’t educate themselves, at least most of them can’t.

Social education is a huge part of education.  This is why I’m not a huge supporter of home-schooling.   Most of the students I’ve had coming out of home-schooling backgrounds never learn to get along with other people.  However, even home-schooling is not as bad as neglecting to correct children.

To illustrate, I’d like to take this opportunity to insert a short story I’ve written about the seriousness of raising and educating children properly, and/or what happens if it is done improperly, or even neglectfully.

Here it is…hope you  “like it,” if it can be liked.  Warning:  it’s kind of long.  Maybe put your glasses on and go get a soda.

and now..

1.

There was once a young man who moved from his homeland to a new country and a new and vibrant city.  This youth had been given a certain sum of money from his father so that he would be able to enter into business and make a success of himself.  The elder had made his small fortune by opening houses of ill-repute in a small midwestern town where there were no other such places. Morally questionable but a wise business move.

As the immigrant, his name was Manfred Lump, started his enterprise, he did research to find out that he could apply for many government grants to start his business.  If Manfred did not have to use his own money, then it was much better.  He wondered, however, why anyone would want to give anyone else money?  But this bewilderment did not stop his application.  He did find out that his only obligation to the government was to pay taxes on the grant so that they could continue giving grants to other people, maybe even immigrants like himself.   Lo and behold, Manfred was granted a large sum of money so that he could build places for people to live.

After embarking on this building career, Manfred had accumulated enough money to find a wife, but he wanted a quiet wife.  He did not enjoy the company of women who expressed themselves in an open way, like his own mother always did.  It made him feel nervous and somewhat afraid.  So Manfred “lept the seas” so to speak, and went out of the country, for the women in this new country were almost all like his mother, and he found an extremely shy, quiet, young lady, and on the poor side of money.  This woman, Fanny was her name, was convinced by her parents that the marriage would be beneficial for her, and maybe for the whole family.  And so it was that the couple married and began to have a family.  Neither Manfred nor Fanny had ever had any feeling for children, but they knew it was the right thing to do to procreate, and Manfred assumed that as his children grew up they would help him and contribute to his business.

Fortunately, Manfred had an acquaintance who explained to him that he could possibly elude paying any of his taxes.  Unfortunately, the government found out about his endeavor, and Manfred ended up in a court battle over his tax fraud for many years.

None of this stopped his success, so it seemed.  In addition, he found a very impressive and large old house that he and his family could move into, and that would be sure to impress all of his naysayers or detractors.

2.

One of the children in the Lump family was having developmental difficulties.  He seemed to have fights with all the neighboring kids and the kids at his school.  One time, while at play, this child (named Harold) had asked to borrow another boy’s play sword.  It was so shiny and gold, and it had what seemed to be rubies and emeralds on its hilt.  Harold was transfixed by this toy, and so he took it and would not give it back.  The next day, his parents were called in to the school to discuss this matter, but afterward, nothing happened.  Harold was allowed to keep the sword and the other boy said nothing.   Although Harold never understood why, he was just glad to get what he wanted and to not get into trouble.

This gave him an idea.  There was a boy from the next neighborhood over who had an amazing bicycle.  It had very large handlebars and huge wheels.  One day, Harold hid in a spot near a house where this kid with the bike sometimes went with his mother, who seemed to work at the house.   Once they were inside, Harold quietly took the bike.  He never rode it anywhere though, because other people might recognize it.   He kept it in a hiding spot near his house to just look at, and to shine it.

 About a year later, he showed his family the bike that he claimed the neighboring boy gave him.  Manfred was somewhat perturbed by this, because as it happens this other boy was not of the same race.  He did not want it known that his son had a bike given from a member of another race; it would be embarrassing. “ As if we need charity from them!” thought he.  But Annie was developing other worries:  She felt that her son was becoming a misbehaving and difficult child.  She decided that she was going to try to help her son be more of a good boy, a nice person even.  So, she started watching him much more closely.

One day, Harold, not enjoying the fact that his mother was eyeing him so closely, gathered up what he had learned to be poison ivy from the field near his house, and placed it into his mother’s side of the bed while she was in the kitchen.  That night, Fanny developed a terrible rash that became infected.  On another occasion, Harold found a small dead mouse in the yard.  So he picked it up wearing a glove (he hated germs) and he put it under the seat of his mother’s car.  As the days went by, the smell in the car led to the discovery of the decomposing carrion. 

Manfred sat the family down and had an inquiry.  It all came out about Harold’s tricks on his mother.  The punishment was that Harold’s favorite candy would not be available to him for one week.  After all the screaming and sulking, Harold knew he could sneak out and get some anyway.   But there was a change in Fanny after that.  She decided that she was very tired and did not feel well and so many of the following days and weeks and months, Fanny could be found in her bed (now cleaned of poison residue).

3.

When Harold was in high school, he showed no propensity towards academics and he continued to have bad relations with other children.  He specifically enjoyed upsetting little girls who happened to sit next to him.  He would throw tacks and paper clips at them, he would put gum in their hair, and draw obscene pictures to leave on their desks.  They all knew that if they told on him, nothing would happen.  Everyone had learned this by now. Eventually,  Manfred decided that his wayward son would be served better at a military school in another town.

Harold was overjoyed to hear this news.  Didn’t the military mean swords and other weapons?  Would he get to hold them?  As it turned out, yes he certainly would.  Each boy was assigned full military garb and weapons and belts and shiny shoes and even swords of gleaming gold.  He could think of nothing more enjoyable than shining his beautiful gold sword and belt buckle, and also he learned how to make his bed the best in his dorm.

Although Harold had no interest in learning anything in his classes, the authorities were impressed by how well Harold took care of his clothes, weapons, and bedding.  After a visit from Manfred, there was an award ceremony during which Harold won a medal for being outstanding boy soldier.  It was truly Harold’s finest moment, and it always would be.

4.

After he graduated from the military academy, with a low “C” average but his medal in tact, Manfred wanted Harold to go to a prestigious university.  No one, including himself, had ever graduated from college, much less a well-known, expensive college.  Harold would not be able to be accepted on his own merits however, and so Manfred had to pour all of his attentions into this project:  his lazy but somehow promising son.  By now Manfred realized that Harold was the only child he had who possessed the type of personality he believed it would take to help him with his business.  His other children didn’t seem to have the interest or the “killer” instinct, as Manfred liked to call it.

One day, there was a letter in the Lump mailbox that stated Harold was welcome to come to school at their university, and it was a very good and expensive one, too. Harold packed up his most expensive clothes and watches given to him by his father, and went off to school.

As the months passed, Harold cared little for his classes, made no friends, rushed no fraternity, and joined no clubs.  He simply did not like or get along with the other students, or of course, the professors.  In fact, not one of his professors seemed to even notice he existed.  Here, there were no belt buckles to shine or beds to make.  No one seemed to care about those things here.  As it turned out, Harold did not have much attention from the young women on the campus either.  Like his father, Harold did not enjoy it when women expressed their opinions loudly or also when they were better than he was at things– like school. But he did find out that his father’s money could help him with any of these lacking types of interactions with women…and so he used it. And used it.  In an interesting irony, Harold looked into his grandfather’s early business from back in the day a few times, and he found it to be a good thing.

The diploma he received had been nearly not delivered several times…but it finally was.  Manfred beamed as he hung up this diploma from the well-known and expensive university, and he not only put it up in his house in the living room, but also in his office (a copy of it.)  Harold would now start to work for him, all shiny and degreed.

5.

As he rolled around in his large Cadillac, Harold loved being his own boss, just about.  He did what his father asked of him, sometimes.  Yet mostly, he relished in telling the tenants of his father’s buildings that they were behind and in trouble with their rents.  He even got to evict some of them.  Frankly, he couldn’t stand most of them—they were mainly either immigrants or of other races.  Harold felt that they were all just dirty.  Every time he had to go into these buildings, Harold carried with him a type of disinfectant for his hands and arms and face that he used right away once he was back safe in his car.

Manfred gave Harold his own projects, and he let Harold talk to a lot of public people…and as Manfred aged, Harold became the public face of the Lump business.  And just like his father Harold accessed many of the benefits from grants and/or loans by the city to build more.  He would follow in his father’s footsteps in most ways:  going to court for non-payment of taxes, getting accused of prejudicial treatment in the rental buildings, the panoply of genetic traits, one can suppose.

There was a person living in the same city who noticed Harold frequenting some of the private clubs that this man visited.  The man, Ray, was somehow drawn to Harold.  Ray liked Harold’s suits and watches especially, and also the way Harold strutted like a rooster with his belly outward.  Ray thought, “This guy has got something I like and want.”  When approached, Harold was stupefied that someone like Ray noticed him even, but they became a kind of friends.  Ray was the first friend Harold ever had.  Conversely, Ray was hated by many people because he lied, cheated, fought,  and sued many people most of the time.  They were two peas in a pod.

Except for one thing:  Ray only enjoyed the company of men.  Even though Harold felt basically the same way, he would never openly admit to this deficit. It would be seen as a weakness, a flaw, and something about which others would definitely have prejudices.  No way would he ever deal with that!!  No matter what.

Soon after meeting Ray, Harold found a quiet immigrant girl who liked him.  She enjoyed driving with him in his Cadillac and he had even given her a necklace with real gold in it.   This was Harold’s first ever girlfriend, and he took her everywhere and bought her many things.  Then, he married her, and then, Harold got more money from the government to build his own building.

By now, Manfred took a lesser place in the business, and Harold didn’t share with his father too many of the endeavors he became involved with.  When Harold introduced his father to Ray, Manfred felt his skin crawl.  There was something about Ray that Manfred detested, but he didn’t know what.   Yet Ray was teaching Harold everything he knew about how to intimidate people, how to gain wealth at the expense of others, and how to use the courts to sue people for random effrontery.  Harold learned that all the people in his life who had ever been mean to him, or ignored him, or belittled him in any way would be his enemies in perpetuity, and he would determine to get revenge on every last one of them.

The End

Let’s take a very brief quiz on your reading skills, shall we?  Here it is:

Which chapter of the story is mainly about bad parenting?  Why do you think so?

Now, cover up the rest of this page and NO LOOKIES before you at least try to provide your own answer.   We, the authors, will hum a little tune while you are thinking and working.   Hmmmm…hmmmm.  HMMM.hummhumm.  HUMM!  Hmmm..hmmm…and….HUMMM!  Ok time’s up.

The answer is CHAPTER 2.  Why?  The first time that Harold usurped another child’s toy and would not return it was the first time he should have been disciplined.   He wasn’t though, because his father either bribed or somehow otherwise got the school to “overlook” the transgression.

Also, the theft of the bike went unpunished (Manfred was more upset about the fact that the bike had belonged to a black kid than he was about his son stealing it…), Harold learned that he could get away with doing bad things.

The only “punishment” his father ever seemed to administer was for the poison ivy and the dead mouse, both heinous and revolting acts towards a mother.   Manfred took away Harold’s favorite candy.  Since Harold could not be monitored every minute of every day, this punishment was useless.  He could go and purchase this candy on his own.

So as each misdeed occurred, Harold grew more and more confident that he could get away with most anything. 

In some cases, this pattern of negative behavior would not result in a “bad adult.”  Some people, as they mature, possess inner “angels” and/or voices which self-correct towards being a decent human being.  Others do not, and they, as a result, turn into nefarious individuals.

This is why raising and educating kids is a serious business.

And now, I will inform everyone that the story I have told has been entirely fictional, with the names and the situations created to illustrate the moral.  That’s what an allegory does. Any comparisons to actual real people would be a ridiculous exercise, so just don’t.