“And by the time they took him, it was too late. To raise Peter and Valentine in our faith. If you don’t teach children when they’re little, it’s never really inside them. You have to hope they’ll come to it later, on their own. It can’t come from the parents, if you don’t begin when they’re little.”

“Indoctrinating them.”

“That’s what parenting is,” said Mrs. Wiggin. “Indoctrinating your children in the social patterns that you want them to live by. The intellectuals have no qualms about using the schools to indoctrinate our children in their foolishness.”

My belief is that this divide stems from there being 2 diametrically opposed views of fundamental human nature. On the one side, you’ve got the heirs to Romanticism who believe that humans are naturally good but corrupted by society. On the other side, you’ve got those who hold traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs in original sin and free will. The former are therefore convinced that peoples’ problems can be solved by external intervention such as the “nanny state”. The latter hold fast to the notions of individual autonomy and personal responsibility. While we all have a moral obligation to reject sin, no one can force us to do the right thing.

Very excellent quote and worth repeating.
Thanks for linking the Carnival, Dana. I kept having some moments of panic about what would not work for me on Monday after your server adventures. Shewww..

I don’t think this is a good thing, but we also need to resist forming policy for the worst case scenario. Giving the state the power to do this to all of us is a little more frightening than allowing the citizenry enough freedom that some abuse it.

It seems to me that in the history of the world, far greater atrocities occur when the state is given enough power to regulate all that goes on in the home, and the abuses aren’t limited by it, either.

At least I’m not paying for the Neo-nazis to indoctrinate their children, is all I have to say on that score.

Good post as always, Dana.

~Luke

Indoctrination refers to a wide range of different activities, and finding a single definition is problematic. In the fields of psychology, sociology and educational research, more precise terms are often preferred, including (but not limited to): socialization, propaganda, manipulation, and brainwashing.

In education, distinguishing (undesirable) “indoctrination” from the (acceptable) teaching of values is particularly problematic.

Homeschooling is only considered “indoctrination” when they disagree with us and are worried that they don’t have enough access to properly indoctrinate our children into their goals.