printBoundaries protect kids. Passing judgment is a very good thing indeed.
Here are replies to comments on EPJ, where “Higher Education Is A Hard Row To Ho” has been posted:
WRITES Nick Badalamenti, March 14, 2014 at 12:41 PM
“That’s private. Only for you to see and touch. To do that, you have to go to your room and close the door.”
That validates that my response to my four young girls, which has been almost identical to yours when they get curious about their privates- Thank you!
ILANA:
Glad, Nick. The thought of exposing these little kids to the corruption of full-on sex-ed (rampant in all schools, private too) is frightening. Kids show a fleeting interest. It’s not a signal to bombard them with the proverbial condoms, HIV-ed, the glories of diverse sexuality, etc. Let them be babies. At this age, they need to understand what is private and what is proper social behavior. That response conveyed both respect for the child’s person and for society’s codes of conduct (you don’t want your kid touching self in front of your guests—or imperiling herself with what some perv might take as lewd conduct). Boundaries protect kids.
Anonymous March 14, 2014 at 1:49 PM
A few things came to mind when reading this:
1) Ron Paul was a military doctor.
2) “Indeed, daddy’s girl is an open book. We know what the 18-year-old does and that she does it for the love of it.” Regardless that she also happens to enjoy it, didn’t she say she’s doing this to raise money for tuition?
3) I feel like the 2 comments below are pretty judgmental on your part. Isn’t the idea of freedom of speech that people are free to comment on things that the average person disagrees with? As Ron Paul said (paraphrasing) “we don’t have freedom of speech to talk about the weather”
“As corrupt as Miriam’s morals are, better to have been a ho for sale than a mercenary for Uncle Sam.”
“Thankfully, this writer’s adult daughter has never delivered so imbecilic a soliloquy and has taken care to be discreet about her private life.”
-Kevin
Reply
Anonymous March 14, 2014 at 4:33 PM
1) Ron Paul was drafted
2) So you are against speech that is judgemental?
Anonymous March 14, 2014 at 4:47 PM
Just as I suspected – you had no comeback for my 2nd point!
As far as your point on Ron Paul being drafted – Fair enough, though I guess one could argue that Dr. Paul could’ve tried to be a “conscientious objector” (though maybe he did try?)
On your point “so you are against speech that is judgmental?” – Nope. To be honest, I only mentioned it because clearly the point of the article was to talk about the liberty aspects of this story rather than the author’s opinion of right and wrong. In other words, saying her morals are “corrupt” adds nothing to the main point.
-Kevin
ILANA:
Anon: I’m not quite sure who’s who in the comments above, but, yes, Ron Paul was drafted. However, even if his military service were voluntary, from the fact that Dr. Paul served Uncle Sam it doesn’t follow that it is right, or that we all must support such service. I thought libertarians were supposed to be skeptical of ALL politicians, even the good ones.
Point # 2 about judgment is spot on (whoever made it). Why reach for the smelling-salts when you encounter judgment, as liberals do? Judging means to discern; “the formation of an opinion after consideration or deliberation.” The human species would not have survived so far if not judgment.
As to the comment about, “the point of the article was to talk about the liberty aspects of this story rather than the author’s opinion of right and wrong.” The point of the article is to talk about the points in the article, not only what is legal or illegal in libertarian law. Why the queasiness about the moral judgment in the column?March 14, 2014 at 6:45 PM