So I was watching "Jon & Kate Plus 8" today (because I think Kate is so fricken weird and she cracks me up!) and after it's over this show "18 Kids and Counting" comes on. Well my first thought is "in this overpopulated world, where our carbon footprints are getting larger everyday, why the hell would you have 18 kids?" So, I figured I had to watch a bit of the show to see the gimmick. I mean, maybe they were all adopted which would be really sweet. Guess what? They're not. So this family (the Duggars) have 18 children ALL with the same first letter of their first name; Role Call: Joshua, Jana and John-David (twins), Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jedidiah and Jeremiah (twins), Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer, and Jordyn-Grace. So, in case the names like Jedidiah or Josiah didn't give it away, The Duggars are very conservative baptists. They believe in the Quiverfull Movement (yes it has a name) which states that you should not use any birth control and "allow God to determine the number of children you will have." These Arkansas parents, Michelle and Jim Bob, teach their 18 kids at home which promotes a horrible stigma about home schoolers. It portrays homeschool families as ignorant, very religious, and hicks. As you can imagine, this is something that quickly gets under my skin.
So if you're not too horrified to keep reading, let me discuss their lifestyle. All the children's Internet usage is heavily monitored, which may be more about control than than about safety. How can the kids learn about freedom when they aren't given any? But wait, it gets better, or worse in this case. As you would assume, the children are not allowed to date in the normal definition of the word. Instead, they go through what they call "courtship." Not only are they not allowed to even kiss before marriage, but they must have a chaperon for every meeting (even if they are adults).
Now don't get me wrong. I believe in the phrase "to each his own" and feel that Michelle and Jim Bob should live however they want. What worries me is the lack of "real world" experiences these children are receiving. I mean, you can lock a puppy up in a cage so he will never pee on the rug or get fleas, but is that really letting him live at all? When children are brought up in such an environment, they are not able to relize the lack of freedom they have. I wont go as far as to say it's brain washing, but I think it is a milder version. If a child is conditioned to be told everything they can do and not do, they don't know they are missing out on the choice. Hearing about courtships and marriages only approved by the dad, I'm reminded of "A Handmaiden's Tail." Have these families gone back in time or have they just never progressed? I completely understand living and raising your family based on religious based morals but does that require them to shelter their kids? What I don't understand is if they teach their children religion, why don't they trust them to use it to make their own decisions, such as marriage? If you trust God to decide how many children you will have, why does the child need permission to date someone from their Dad rather than the Heavenly Father? Seems like a hypocrisy to me.
Well, my head is spinning too much to write anymore so I am going to go lie down. Just talking about 18 children has worn me out.
So if you're not too horrified to keep reading, let me discuss their lifestyle. All the children's Internet usage is heavily monitored, which may be more about control than than about safety. How can the kids learn about freedom when they aren't given any? But wait, it gets better, or worse in this case. As you would assume, the children are not allowed to date in the normal definition of the word. Instead, they go through what they call "courtship." Not only are they not allowed to even kiss before marriage, but they must have a chaperon for every meeting (even if they are adults).
Now don't get me wrong. I believe in the phrase "to each his own" and feel that Michelle and Jim Bob should live however they want. What worries me is the lack of "real world" experiences these children are receiving. I mean, you can lock a puppy up in a cage so he will never pee on the rug or get fleas, but is that really letting him live at all? When children are brought up in such an environment, they are not able to relize the lack of freedom they have. I wont go as far as to say it's brain washing, but I think it is a milder version. If a child is conditioned to be told everything they can do and not do, they don't know they are missing out on the choice. Hearing about courtships and marriages only approved by the dad, I'm reminded of "A Handmaiden's Tail." Have these families gone back in time or have they just never progressed? I completely understand living and raising your family based on religious based morals but does that require them to shelter their kids? What I don't understand is if they teach their children religion, why don't they trust them to use it to make their own decisions, such as marriage? If you trust God to decide how many children you will have, why does the child need permission to date someone from their Dad rather than the Heavenly Father? Seems like a hypocrisy to me.
Well, my head is spinning too much to write anymore so I am going to go lie down. Just talking about 18 children has worn me out.
