"In the not-so-distant past, kids ruled the country's woods and valleys -- running in packs, building secret forts and treehouses, hunting frogs and fish, playing hide-and-seek behind tall grasses. But in the last 30 years, says journalist Richard Louv, children of the digital age have become increasingly alienated from the natural world, with disastrous implications, not only for their physical fitness, but also for their long-term mental and spiritual heath.
In his new book, "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder," Louv argues that sensationalist media coverage and paranoid parents have literally "scared children straight out of the woods and fields," while promoting a litigious culture of fear that favors "safe" regimented sports over imaginative play. Well-meaning elementary school curricula may teach students everything there is to know about the Amazon rain forest's endangered species, but do little to encourage kids' personal relationship with the world outside their own doors. And advances in technology, while opening up a wealth of "virtual" experiences to the young, have made it easier and easier for children to spend less time outside."
Wow. There's a lot there that really resonates with me, mainly "a litigious culture of fear" I think that one statement right there sums up a lot of what's wrong with North America these days.
I grew up in rural BC, near the coast. As a child, I would frequently set out in the morning with a sandwich and a machete and not get home till dusk. You think that sort of thing happens now? I doubt it. My dad was a staunch opponent of any sort of video game machine, and the 'net didn't yet exist as we enjoy it today so I had to create my own entertainment.
Recently, I read a great article about a guy that was working in Iraq, setting up satellite based internet for people trying to carry on business there. He described having to travel through the city lying on the floor of the car, being constantly armed, and not knowing if the 'police' at the checkpoint were insurgents in disguise or real cops. Upon his return to the US, he was saddened and disgusted by the culture of fear and entitlement that he observed. People with no clue about anything, really, going on about how afraid of the scary terrists they were.
Makes you wonder sometimes, what it's all coming to.
I'm glad to see there are a few pockets of people that can think for themselves left. This board is one of the better ones, I think.
-Cam.
