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‘cocksure young men’

a briefing document

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‘cocksure young men’ is part of a group of documents on general, basic education

laying the foundations for sound education

‘cocksure young men’ the nature of cult recruitment - jihadi bombers
introduction
‘cocksure young men’
recent historical context
social vacuums
resolving these social problems
flawed school model
some directions to take


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introduction
The influence of the christianist Churches is receding, together with the practice of ethics, civics, courtesy and honour. As this steadying effect of religion fades, many young people, especially young men, are falling between the cracks of educational systems and the general Western social fabric.

These two major social structures are inadequate in encouraging social co-operation and real respect for others. There is also the factor that a good proportion of families are isolated, without the support and experiences of inter-generational, extended families. This is aggravated by the increasing lack of place of those displaced by the disappearance of intellectually undemanding work and the increasing dispersion of family and relations in the age of easy travel.

The result can be nuisance, sometimes major disturbance, to other citizens.

Here, abelard outlines the problems and their sources, while discussing some directions to take for starting to resolve this nuisance growing in society.

‘cocksure young men’
Now, ‘cocksure young men’ are raised in a society that tells them that their ‘opinions’ are worth a twopenny damn. The problem of assimilating these vain youths is only gradually coming to public awareness; a problem existed down the ages in all societies, though writ small.

The problem includes a mad and rather large cult (a range of related cults really), that in part is the consequence of the steady growth of increased individual power and freedom. Children are being are brought up in the Middle East, and in Surbiton, to believe the world owes them a living. The boys still have hormones. They sit around in cafés discussing how to put the world to rights, or how much better it would be if they were ruler of the universe.

recent historical context
The (very positive and necessary) social revolution of the 1960s tended to throw out baby with bath water. Revolutions do that. Then, mental discipline went, along with the oppression. There are still idealists who cling to such lack of mental discipline as ‘self-expression’, together with many cowards and fools.

If Western civilisation is to continue and grow, it will not be by rewinding the clock back to before the ’60s revolution occurred. It will be by adapting to the realities of the current modern world and society, and by finding ways to live in accord with this modern world. In our world where work is steadily shrinking, I do not expect societies to adjust in five minutes flat to find optimal methods for handling the problems of disaffected but cocksure young men.

Jihadism is a seeking for (unobtainable) certainties and security blankets. Similarly, the middle-class waffle about sufism or grasp for other fads; likewise, the idiots who yearn for ‘the good old days’.return to the index

social vacuums
The human is a highly dangerous animal and often must be tamed as part of its maturation process, even from two years old. As long as children continue to be raised in cotton wool and the vacuum, it is inevitable that a proportion will act dangerously and foolishly.

This is far more important as the potential power of the individual rises; along with our huge strides in understanding chemistry, biology and physics.

If some wet dope is let out with a degree in chemistry, in combination with no serious social training or understanding, it is inevitable that with hubris and ignorance, a few will choose to go out with a bang. There is another version of this phenomenon with the events at Columbine.

This sequence of events is not magic and it is not just found with Islam. It is human nature, combined with a society adrift; a society with far more power available to the individual than ever before.

Meanwhile, in the background, there are always venal power seekers: self-styled imams or a Charles Manson are ready to corrupt and use the folly of youth for personal gain; and then there are irresponsible politicians, prepared to lie by offering pretended easy options.

You do not raise an individual to independence by running to pick the child up the moment it starts to whine or falls down, nor by refusing to let it choose its own clothes or have some say over its diet.

 

resolving these social problems
The real actions to be taken to stop, or at least attenuate, the problems must include a sane modern training in citizenship. This is not an add-on extra. It is a necessary central and fundamental part of a modern society changing at a rate never previously experienced by the human animal.

These social problems cannot be solved with the methods of last century, let alone those of the 7th century. There has to be a modern approach to modern problems, not some crazy Taliban/Luddite attempt to return to the olden days where olden methods would (apparently) work for a primitive, or even a purposefully primitivised, society.

I have no wish to live in the 7th century, or even the 20th century. I wish to live in the 21st century. I welcome the real world with all its wonders. I do not seek to return to the earlier ways of ‘nasty, brutal and short’.

Many people appear to think all that is needed is a bit of paint and sticking plaster and then “things will be fine”. They will not.

flawed school model
There is, sensibly, much more ‘learning by doing’ in schools now, but the problems go very much further. Meanwhile, the school model is deeply flawed.

School is often an unsuitable place for serious learning. The schools should belong to communities and be a resource, not a prison and baby sitting service for the crime of being ‘young’.

Education should be aimed at parents, not just children. Parents should be a fully integrated part of the process, as should local communities. Many things should be taught that are just not taught at all. Teaching should not be about some outdated handcrafts, or preparing pre-digested written scripts.

The problems concerning behaviours, disaffection, young people... are mixed into the package like a raspberry ripple.

The less smart kids cannot look forward to high-paying jobs. They cannot compete with educated, disciplined Chinese or Indian adults. They cannot compete with immigrants who will do the less fashionable jobs at lower rates and without constantly whining. Until the yearning for the past world is stopped, society will not adjust to the present world.

some directions to take
How does society propose to deal with an already over-crowded island (the UK) in a world where population is growing at the rate of more than a new Britain every year, and where food and oil supplies come under ever increasing pressure? Many are ostriches, seeking to believe what they want to believe rather than attending to reality. Typically, socialists act in such a fashion. Those who prefer burying their heads will ever more lose control of the outcomes.

This is a new world that must be understood, tackled and accommodated.

Franchise by examination is effectively one rather simplified focus for that need to adapt, as is a citizen’s wage.

At the heart of the problems is the cowardly raising of cowards, and the inculcation of arrogance.

Children are being raised in a sort of intellectual and emotional vacuum. There is little so foolish and cruel as to tell some ignorant kid that the world owes them a living, let alone that their immature ‘opinions’ much matter in the development of society and nations. Obviously, the young must develop self-expression through practice, but they should not be led to expect that they will gain original insights into the political problems of the age without accumulating a considerable mass of learning.

Self-control does not suddenly spring fully formed, “just like that” at some magical age. Large percentages of ‘adults’ are merely immature children in bigger bodies. Much of their immaturity is due to an irresponsible, dogmatic ‘permissiveness’, a fashion from hippy theories - detached from the realities of human nature and development.

Sane development requires judicious and thoughtful balance between permissions and discipline. It does not require one extreme or the other. All extremes generate unfortunate outcomes with inevitable payments to be made.

return to the index


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For further reading: categories, analogy and reification
laying the foundations for sound education denialism
psycho-babble

drugs

the nature of cult recruitment - jihadi bombers ends and means and the individual

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