Parents who 'brainwash' their children make me SICK

"I may not agree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it" - Voltaire

 

I love that quote. I believe everyone should be able to have their say and believe whatever they want. 

 

People have to right to rally and protest and I truly think everyone should take advantage of that right at least once. I however think that only those the age of majority should be able to take part in this. If you aren't old enough to vote, you should not be allowed to take part in rallies/protests. The reason people can not vote until 18 is because before that age, most people are not mature enough to make up their own mind about such an important choice. I believe this should also apply to rallies/protests.

Ok, so your thinking, why does this woman care? What brought this on? Well this is what brought it on: A pro-life rally in Calgary

Now, I have to say, I am a Pro-Choicer, but like I said above, I believe everyone can believe whatever they want. If everyone believed what I believed, life wouldn't be as entertaining. I think that having signs SAYING your beliefs and rallying is a healthy expression of freedom of speech. I don't have to agree with your sign, and I can walk/drive right by you. If my daughter and/or my brothers are with me, they can pass without knowing what is really going on. However, when you have pictures on your signs, and have a truck that drives around with pictures of aborted fetuses on it (like the pro-life association in Calgary), you make it impossible for anyone, no matter how young, to not notice you.

 

Even though those pictures frustrate me, one thing upset me even more about this rally. Under-aged children as young as 4 were holding signs and shouting along side their parents!

From a parenting standpoint, how can someone justify showing their YOUNG children pictures of aborted fetuses, dead children, and killing Jews ON PURPOSE? That is just disturbing! And I can not even begin to understand how someone can train their young children to say some of the things these children were saying! 

Now correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the whole point of being a parent to raise a human to a point where they can survive on their own? To ensure they have the skills and tools to make it on their own? How can you know you've done this if you don't let your children make up their own minds about situations. Training a child to say, believe, or do anything from a young age ingrains it in them. Like saying "please and thank you" becomes second nature, so will "you go to hell if you have an abortion". Not exactly the most polite thing to say to someone in passing.

I FIRMLY believe that children are their own persons. They are not miniature versions of their parents. That means that they usually have similar morals as their parents, but also believe many different things. But, if we are indoctrinating children to believe exactly what we do from such a young age, are we doing anyone any favors? We only get progress when we raise progressive thinkers...

 

Shouldn't we as parents give our children all the possibilities available to them? Shouldn't we allow them to choose the best path for them? It seems that the group of pro-lifers in Calgary do not agree. Forcing beliefs on their children before they can even read is more their style.

Am I saying this is true for all pro-lifers? Of course not! My mother is pro-life, but she would never dream of bringing my brothers to such a rally.

 

 

Anyway, I could rant about this for years, but I should really stop. My main points are this: 

-if you can't vote, you shouldn't rally. 

-exposing young children to gruesome pictures is just plain wrong

-forcing beliefs on children only slows down the worlds progress and makes us all bad parents

Look, I know it is so bad to 'choose' anything, but I think we owe our children some choices...