Snowplow Parenting: The Decline of Our Society

Helicopter parenting, snowplow parenting, all the different versions of it, protecting our kids from having any anxiety as children, is probably the largest source of depression in our country.

These ways of parenting are not preparing your children how to deal with their future anxieties or how to deal with life in general. We need to shift our attitudes.

Graham C.L. Dewy Davey, PhD talks about the anxiety caused by this in his article “Helicopter, Snowplow, and Bubble-Wrap Parenting – How is anxiety transmitted from parents to their children?” Many times anxiety ultimately ends up in depression. And we wonder why these kids end up depressed in their 30’s and 40’s. Well it came from our coddling them too much.

There is another version of parenting, which is the old-day proper way called hold your child accountable parenting. It is a lot firmer and doesn’t let children get away with things. It holds them accountable as much as possible. For one example, it restricts their use of social media. Social media has been known to be a huge source of depression and suicide among children and students. The bullying alone is enough reason to limit your child’s access to social media.

Parents have also got to stop trying to get them into colleges they shouldn’t. Stop snowplowing their way in.

Not all kids should go to college. Think about it. You could go to college to be a teacher making about $45,000 a year. Or you could spend two years in a trade and start out at $80,000 a year.

You could go to work for Google right out of high school. They won’t pay you but $20 to $25 an hour initially. But they will pay you $60 to $70 an hour after two years working there. It’s like Walmart. Everyone raises hell about Walmart, but their average income is $25 to $30 after three years of employment.

The point is there are many successful people without a college degree.

The main thing today is we’ve got to stop this snowplowing and helicoptering and coddling our kids.

For single parents, we need to figure out how to help them get role models for their children. They don’t have to be the same ethnic upbringing, just a good person who will volunteer to “adopt” a single parent family. There are thousands of great people out there who want to help. Everyone is trying to be White on White and Black on Black and I firmly disagree with that theory. If somebody helps make a family stronger, I don’t care what color they are. I think we should live in a colorless society.

The one thing I’m sure of is that we’ve got to practice more discipline and accountability.

Anyway, let’s get rid of the helicopter and snowplow parenting. And let’s take responsibility and get these darn smart phones out of our young children’s hands.

There is a great article from Business Insider, “Silicon Valley parents are raising their kids tech-free – and it should be a red flag“, that shows the reason their kids are tech-free. I think they’re right. We need to limit our children’s use of technology. They shouldn’t have a cell phone until they are at least 12 years old. And even then it should be limited use. Make your kids earn their tech time. Only allow them to use it after all of their homework and chores are done.

Don’t be afraid to hold your children accountable. Quit snowplowing or helicoptering or bubble wrapping them. They will love and appreciate you more because of it.

Our Moral Compass Needs to Get Back on Course

The moral compass of today’s society has really gone astray. Not to mention the decline in emotional intelligence. Between the hate crime accusations from Jussie Smollett and the inappropriate touching claims against Joe Biden, what are we supposed to think? Oh, and let’s not forget the exoneration of President Trump from colluding with the Russians.

When it comes to Jussie who knows if we’ll ever get the truth, but either way that story pans out, hate and resentment were the culprits. If Jussie is guilty he had enough hate and resentment in him to make false claims. And if he’s innocent then those who attacked him were full of hate and resentment as well. Either way, it’s an ugly truth.

Then we have President Trump. The Mueller Report says he didn’t collude with the Russians. You would think we as a country would be happy to hear that our President is not guilty. Instead, people are angry and in disbelief. It really is a sad state of affairs.

The truth is the feelings of hate can go beyond the level of any cognitive thinking or ability to deal with resentments. We really need to rethink and work on tolerance in our country. How do we take situations such as these and turn them into a positive?

How do we as a society become truly objective once again? How do we learn empathy and tolerance? Especially for a difference of opinion?

First of all, we need to re-embrace freedom of speech and learn to listen respectfully to one another. It is okay to disagree. I think a great example of this is in the art of debating. Debating forces both parties to look at both sides of the issue objectively whether you agree with it or not. There is a lesson to be re-learned there.

Our society has fought long and hard for many years for free speech and civil rights. We can’t lose all of the progress we have made because of a current lack of emotional intelligence in our society.

How do we fix this? No Hate No Violence likes to say Stop Talking Do Something. But for now, let’s start talking and start to really listen. Let us know your thoughts!

Let’s Do Something While We’re Talking

BE PROUD TO BE THE BEST GREAT NATION IN THE WORLD

America’s wealthy donates more money on an annual basis to help other countries than anyone else. What many don’t understand is that about 20% of the people in the US pay 80% of the taxes. Those 20% paying 80% of the taxes are not all wealthy. Think about that.

Being the greatest nation in the world allows us to help all these other countries in the world. If we don’t continue to work on being the best and greatest nation in the world we won’t be able to help the other countries as much as we do. President Trump could do a better job of pointing that out. We have done more to promote equal rights and human rights in the world than all other countries combined.

We really need to lighten up and focus on what the big issues really are. Can you imagine if we just adopted a more positive attitude moving forward? The Democrats would be so much more productive in a good way rather than creating a divide amongst us.

The Democratic stonewalling needs to stop. I applaud Nancy Pelosi’s decision to not try to impeach President Trump because, as she says, it will only divide our country. Though, I will admit, I am not confident in her intentions.

But, I do think the Democratic Party has some good potential presidential candidates for 2020. If they want to gain momentum with the votes they need to stop the stonewalling Trump Haters at the expense of the voters. The people are tired of it. They are going to lose their seats in the house and presidential elections if they don’t.

One man with conviction will overwhelm a hundred who have only opinions. ~ Winston Churchill

So, let’s get a positive attitude and get rid of the hate and violence. Let’s focus on the more positive we can do in the world to benefit everyone. Remember, the people with good attitudes generally are more successful in life. So, if you want to continue on with a negative attitude then expect to make less money and be in the lower echelon of democracy. But if you want to continue to rise…well then embrace the power of positivity and keep a positive attitude!

A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand

So much in life revolves around attitude. And only we are responsible for our attitudes. The world presents us with situations. But it’s our choice. We choose how we will react to it. No one else makes that choice for us.

In a time when so many are certain that our country is divided, I think we need to take a closer look at ourselves. If this country is truly divided, then it is our own fault. We have no one to blame other than ourselves for allowing ourselves to react the way that we are.

The world is never going to agree on everything. That is what makes it so beautiful. If we were all the same there would be no uniqueness and life would be boring. So, why is it so hard for us to not accept others for who they are? We need to embrace our uniqueness.

The great thing about attitude is that you can always change it. It’s never too late. In a constantly evolving world that continues to become more and more enlightened, we always have the ability to change things.

One of my favorite presidential quotes is from Abraham Lincoln: “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” Imagine how much less hate and violence there would be in the world if more people adopted that mind set? If we took the time to learn about someone rather than cast hate toward them because we don’t like them or what we think they believe, or we don’t understand them.

It seems fitting that perhaps we should reflect on what our country’s great leaders have told us. The following quotes are some of my favorites:

“To be good, and to do good, is all we have to do.”

~ John Adams

“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of

your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”

~ Theodore Roosevelt

“Pessimism never won any battle.”

~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

Click “Presidential Quotes” to view the inspirational quotes from all 45 of our presidents.

Let’s Preserve Our History With Transparency

Let’s put up large well-lit plaques instead of tearing down our monuments.

I know there are monuments that some people would love to tear down because they represent a dark part of America’s past. I understand why some of these monuments might offend certain people, and I am sensitive to their pain. However, to tear down these monuments would amount to an erasure of the history that they represent. To remove them disrespects the work of the artist and the historical significance of the pieces as they are.

One of the arguments for the removal of Confederate monuments is that they exist in public spaces without context.

They could be seen as a glorification of ideals that our country no longer represents instead of an example of how far we have come. So, instead of tearing them down, why don’t we provide that context? The cities and states that are home to these monuments should choose to maintain the monuments but put up a plaque that explains who the person was and what they did. In the case of Confederate generals, the plaque would explain the person’s involvement in the Civil War and that the war was fought for the preservation of slavery. The explanation should condemn the enslavement of black Americans, but let’s not forget that these pieces of art have become fixtures in communities and, beyond that, are the work of talented artists who spent time, sweat, and tears on them.

There will be people who are offended by this suggestion.

I recognize that. Those whose ancestors were enslaved and are reminded of that horrific history and pain by these monuments should be the ones in charge of the committees that would oversee what should be written on the plaques. Let those on the side of history that has been silenced for much of the existence of our country tell that story as they want it to be understood. Whether it be a few sentences or several paragraphs, providing context would allow for the preservation of the historical art while condemning racism and slavery.

Don’t we want the United States to be a country of redemption? Forgiveness?

If we don’t acknowledge the grim parts of our history, we may be doomed to repeat them. Adding a large well-lit sign explaining the historical context of these monuments would elevate them from a monument to a lesson. It could explain the wrongs of the person and how much our country has grown. If we intend to move forward and build a stronger, more united country free from the tensions of the past, we need to embrace our history and our monuments for the growth that they now represent.

Category: Attitude