aidan wrote:Finn - I'm at the tail (read: "young") end of the baby boom generation. I can pretty much agree with a lot of what you're saying - but I can't go along with politicizing this phenomenom. I think a lot of it has to do with characteristics such as selfishness and the need for instant gratification. I don't believe those traits have anything at all to do with whether one is conservative or liberal.
I'm not sure what you mean by "politicizing."
Adopting new and unconventional methods of parenting is, by definition, progressive or liberal in nature. One can argue, I suppose, that if the original intent was the product of a flaw in character (e.g. selfishness) that it is inaccurate to consider the approach progressive or liberal., however then we should all agree that the same rule must be applied to the use of conservative. In other words, men who desire a return to social and/or legal inequity for women are not advocating a sort of conservative approach, but merely manifesting misogyny or insecurity.
This is off course a slippery slope, because there will never be common agreement about the origins of the approaches.
Conservatism, it can be argued, is, in essence, a reliance on traditional values and ideas.
Liberalism, it can also be argued, is, in essence, the embracing of new ideas and values.
The statement I made had nothing to do with Liberal Politicians and their supporters or Conservative Politicians and their supporters. Nor was I introducing the subject of governance into the discussion.
I suspect that what you mean by "politicizing" is, in fact, "name calling."
Conservative Baby Boomers did not adopt new methods of parenting. Progressive Baby Boomers did. That you agree with me that, in general, the result of these "new" methods was not positive, doesn't mean that either you or I am right. Someone on this thread has argued that there is nothing wrong with a mother who wants to be more of a friend than a traditional mother to her daughter. That is a new idea (as of the 60's).
It is not because it is new that it is a bad idea. There are plenty of new ideas that are wonderful. It is a bad idea because, in part, it is born of the character flaws which you have cited, and, more importantly, because it ignores a child's need for discipline and structure. I don't know about parados, but I never looked to friends for discipline or structure.
Not all conservatives are selfish nor are all liberals, however there is an aspect of liberalism that runs the risk of selfishness because it so values the self - the individual.
Of course these terms have lost much of their original meaning because, for example, Conservatives promote rugged individualism, while Liberals promote the collective good.
Not all Baby Boomers who were progressive parents or who labeled themselves Progressives, were failed parents. I made a point of speaking in general terms about "progressive" parenting, and I continue to contend that, among Baby Boomers, those parents who have been most successful have relied upon traditional notions of parenting rather than progressive.
