I think we all know I'm no fan of the programs. However, drawing parallels and comparing this insanity to a program is a bit of a fallacy. Most program grads in the USA aren't donning C-4 undershirts with a nice rusty bolt lining.
It is sort of like comparing Tranquility Bay to Auschwitz. The sheer magnitude of Auschwitz can't be touched by what goes on at Tranquility Bay. Don't get me wrong I think TB and programs are as fucked up as they get. I just don't think we ought to be making these sorts of comparisons due to the desired end results. You'll find that even in the Roloff schools the final baked pizza product isn't dreaming of blowing themselves up to get into heaven.
I must disagree, I do not think it a fallacy at all. I've seen many posts from parents essentially saying that if it's brainwashing it's still okay because of the results. Let's not judge the means by looking at the end results. To me, the real danger behind programs lies with the possibility that they might indeed 'work.' Then the means can be used or abused to achieve any ends. Does the end justify the means? To me this fundamental question must answered with a resounding, "No.!"
When you look at the history of Lenin, Stalin, and Mao, these are men who believed that ends did indeed justify the means. They believed that the perfect society could be designed from the top down and imposed on the population. Those that disagreed could be 're-educated' to fit their mold. When that fails, kill them all and start again with new people. But no way would they admit that the entire top-down approach defied our innate human nature (which includes a self-serving, greedy part), something they could not change, no matter how harsh or drastic the means. Thus communism is doomed to failure. It's ideology ignores reality.
The atrocity lies in the means, not the desired outcome. I believe it was Aristotle who said that no man knowingly does evil. Men believe that their actions are justified.
Program parents and programs fully believe that the ends are so 'right' or 'good' that they amply justify the very harsh means used to achieve them. They fully believe they are 'helping' their teens to adjust to the directives of society and they believe it is right that the top can and should impose this upon the teens. This logic is identical to the madrases and pretty much any cult-like group. I know we are talking about misbehaving teens, but what prevents those who feel very strongly about a particular political or religious view from justifying the use of the same means to suit their own ends (some programs are religion based). You cannot have it both ways. You cannot be morally consistent and say it is okay based only upon what you are trying to achieve; because it assumes that those in power harbor the one absolute truth and all other views are incorrect. And, that those in power have the right, or even the duty, to impose that view on others.
When I was a teen, my own Father despised the blame-the-parent approach and stated is the only the job of parents to do their best to instill in their children a sound set of values. Ultimately, it is the up to the child to determine what he does. It's called free will. Yes, you are free to get into trouble, I recommend against it.
If we (as a society) find that these means are okay to use to force teenagers to conform to 'society's values' then what prevents other powers (the government?) from determining this should also apply to adults. Let's start with the rehabilitation of prisoners. If that works, let's next focus on the political radicals. Then the Liberals. Finally, we can change the non-Christians to 'see the truth' and change their evil views as well. We could, in theory, from the top down, create a uniform conservative Christian Nation and what ends could be better than that to justify the means?
How about the torture debate in our country? Does the ends (national security) justify the means? My generation would have shouted a resounding, "No!" in the '60s or '70s. I have said before that if my generation discovered that Nixon was waterboarding, we would have burned the White House to the ground.
Fortunately, brainwashing does not work out very well. It forces conformity long enough for an unsettled teen to settle, sometimes. Or does it? How many successful program graduates come forth into the world believing that authority has a right to oppress dissent? How many adult assholes do these programs produce? How many would support Bush's view of the strong, self-governed executive that can change our rights based on what he sees are the security needs of the Nation and that he should not be criticized or questioned by those 'beneath' him (the top-down approach).
In other words, if programs really worked, what would prevent society from modeling all public schools on them (like the Communists mentioned above) in order that all teens should have the 'opportunity' to turn out so well adjusted. Then 'we' could design society in any way we wish.
If the above sounds overly political and anti-right wing, that is intentional. It is no coincidence that programs support the Republican Party with so much money. While the means may be politically neutral, the context in which these means are used can never be politically neutral. Whose values are being imposed on the teens? Conservative, family values, of course. Is there any other kind?
How successful do you think I could be if I decided to run a program to instill my views into teens, to run a program with the intention of teaching teens that Power is corrupt and never to be trusted? That authority must be questioned and kept in check to prevent oppression? That the intention of our democracy is based on self-government of the people, not to instill a top-down obedience, but a bottom-up form of representative democracy where even minority opinions are protected by constitutional guarantee? A view that believes an individual's rights often supersede those of the larger society? And finally, a view that an individual's right to harbor their own thoughts and hold and express their own opinions is sacrosanct and not be trampled upon or trifled with by the State which exists to serve the individual, not the other way 'round? And that this right is extended to all age groups.
I have never been in a program, but I despise them. They pose a threat to freedom and democracy and are a violation of human rights. My heart goes out to any free-thinking teen stuck in one.
AtomicAnt
- whose house has no formal rules, whose child has never been punished - for anything, and yet is an honor-roll student, and is annoyingly outspoken and opinionated, which is a good thing.
