Wherever I Look, I See Signs Of

We Are Still Barely Conscious Of How Harmful It Is To Treat Children In A Degrading Manner. Treating Them With Respect And Recognizing The Consequences Of Their Being Humiliated Are By No Means Intellectual Matters; Otherwise, Their Importance Would Long Since Have Been Generally Recognized.

Quite Often I Have Been Faced With People Who Were Praised And Admired For Their Talents And Their Achievements... According To Prevailing Attitudes, These People-the Pride And Joy Of Their Parents-should Have Had A Strong And Stable Sense Of Self-assurance. But The Case Is Exactly The Opposite... Whenever They Suddenly Get The Feeling They Have Failed To Live Up To Some Ideal Image Or Have Not Measured Up To Some Standard, Then They Are Plagued By Anxiety Or Deep Feelings Of Guilt And Shame. What Are The Reasons For Such Disturbances In These Competent, Accomplished People?

Sadism Is Not An Infectious Disease That Strikes A Person All Of A Sudden. It Has A Long Prehistory In Childhood And Always Originates In The Desperate Fantasies Of A Child Who Is Searching For A Way Out Of A Hopeless Situation.

Children Who Are Respected Learn Respect. Children Who Are Cared For Learn To Care For Those Weaker Than Themselves. Children Who Are Loved For What They Are Cannot Learn Intolerance. In An Environment Such As This, They Will Develop Their Own Ideals, Which Can Be Nothing Other Than Humane, Since They Grew Out Of The Experience Of Love.

The Knowledge That You Were Beaten And That This, As Your Parents Tell You, Was For Your Own Good May Well Be Retained (although Not Always), But The Suffering Caused By The Way You Were Mistreated Will Remain Unconscious And Will Later Prevent You From Empathizing With Others. This Is Why Battered Children Grow Up To Be Mothers And Fathers Who Beat Their Offspring