Submitted by Daniel Amaduri (The Dissident Dad) via Mike Krieger's Liberty Blitzkrieg blog [4],
I want to share with my children everything I’ve learned over these past few years as I’ve abandoned my mental and emotional slavery and embraced personal sovereignty. Defending my children from the lies of statists and oligarchs is one of the most important things I can do as a parent.
However, a healthy concern I have is that I don’t want to merely replace the state. What I mean is I don’t want to eliminate state propaganda and brainwashing and merely replace it with my own equivalent.
My intentions are good as a parent, but I never want to allow my passion and perspective to become the automatic default belief system for my children.
As a dad who is always learning and trying to find his footing in a world filled with increasing levels of madness, I have written down 3 core values for myself as a father that I read aloud everyday:
1. Teach them to think for themselves
2. Respect
3. Learn together
Teaching Them to Think
The temptation to raise fellow activists is definitely there. My son and I even made a Nevada paper a few years ago when we met Ron Paul. Since then, I’ve pushed for common sense thinking lessons, rather than alliances with any one political belief.
I have found using everyday life as learning experiences helps the process. For example, after catching some fish with my son, we had the following conversation.
Me: It’s great that you caught fish. Should we eat them or give them to the neighbor? Because I heard they like fish.
Son: No. I want to eat them (4 years old at the time).
Me: What if the neighbor comes and takes one of our fish? Would that be okay?
Son: No.
Me: If the police came and took a fish, would it be right, then?
Son (after thinking about it for a few seconds): No. That’s my fish. I caught them.
The lesson here is that stealing is wrong. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the neighbor or a cop using civil asset forfeiture.
Respect
Treat other people how you want to be treated. Respect all life; it’s all a miracle.
Show respect to all beings, even the smallest of creatures that typically get stepped on for no good reason, is a virtue that will help children to think before they cause harm. It’s also a great way to view the world. To see violence for what it is – evil.
Learn Together
What a great way to learn… learning with your children. Take them to debates, documentary movies, visit the library together, and interact with people outside your typical comfort zone whenever possible.
Most importantly, follow up on questions you don’t know the answer to. You don’t have to pretend to be the immediate authority on everything just because your child asks you something. Encourage conversations and question everything.
Raising Adults
Ultimately, your kids are going to make their own decisions. Instead of trying to train them to believe what we believe, I’m going to focus my energies on teaching them to think, even when it counters the old man’s beliefs.
