Most of us think what our parents told us to think

[mistermack]

Maybe not on this forum. But the world in general.
They adopt the religion of their parents, and the political party of their parents.

We become our parents. On average that is. I would not expect ratz to follow that rule to the same extent as others.
Are you trying to turn your kids into you?

[macdoc]

Is that why you have so much trouble with science..

[mistermack]

Is that why you have so much trouble with science..

Well, you have no trouble at all with bullshit. So I can only assume that you come from a long line of bullshitters.
Presumably the runt of the litter.

[laklak]

I looked in the mirror this morning and exclaimed "Dad!"

[Trinity]

I read in a psychology book once that until puberty, kids pretty much adopt their parents' attitudes/beliefs etc (this is generalising you understand) then through adolescence kids take on wider influences which shape their attitudes but having a sense of objectivity and questioning their place/role in the world (having idols/heroes at this age is common) then as a child grows into adulthood, autonomous decisions about what they want to believe in or be influenced by comes into play.
This is a basic outline of stages of awareness development but obviously doesn't consider other influences such as childhood trauma.

[mistermack]

I read in a psychology book once that until puberty, kids pretty much adopt their parents' attitudes/beliefs etc (this is generalising you understand) then through adolescence kids take on wider influences which shape their attitudes but having a sense of objectivity and questioning their place/role in the world (having idols/heroes at this age is common) then as a child grows into adulthood, autonomous decisions about what they want to believe in or be influenced by comes into play.
This is a basic outline of stages of awareness development but obviously doesn't consider other influences such as childhood trauma.

Most of that is true, but in the big things, most of us follow our parents.
I speak from observing others, not for my own example. My parents were religious and hardworking.
I've never been afflicted with either. But I suppose I'm left wing on many things.
I'm not sure if that rubbed off from them though. It was practically impossible to determine what they thought politically, they would never tell us. But kids have a way of finding out.
But they never ever talked politics in a biased way. They were just as likely to favour Conservative policies as Labour.
But we did find out in sneaky ways that they usually supported labour.

But religion was different. That was openly drummed into us. I'm sure that they believed that they were doing what was best for us. But it had the opposite effect on me.

[klr]

...
But religion was different. That was openly drummed into us. I'm sure that they believed that they were doing what was best for us. But it had the opposite effect on me.

Yup. That's one thing that has changed.

[Tero]

So whatever is presented as dogma is wrong?

[Audley Strange]

Most people think they are doing their best. How many of us have had someone interfere or be annoying and claim "I was only trying to help?"

Still it's more than just our parents we imitate until we perfect the mimicry and claim it identity. Our languages, our dialects, our turn of phrases are all influenced perpetually by others and since the invention of the television this had not even been confined to local influences. The only seeming difference is children copy having no option, adolescents have more influences and thus rebel against the parent state and adults cultivate this and claim it "values" and "morals" and shit like that.

Monkey see, monkey do.

[mistermack]

So whatever is presented as dogma is wrong?

As lots of dogma are mutually contradictory, all it proves is that the consensus means fuck-all.

It's the facts behind it all that count.

[Coito ergo sum]

So whatever is presented as dogma is wrong?

No, but if it's right, it's believed for the wrong reasons, and the process is as important as the correct answer. That is, if, indeed, there is a right and wrong answer on a particular matter of dogma.

I'd rather my daughter think for herself than be right any day of the week. I'd rather her think for herself AND be right, but if it's a choice between the two, I'd like her to be wrong and an independent thinker any day of the week..

[Coito ergo sum]

So whatever is presented as dogma is wrong?

As lots of dogma are mutually contradictory, all it proves is that the consensus means fuck-all.

It's the facts behind it all that count.

So much for the majority determining what is right, an argument you've made in other contexts. Chalk one up for individual thinking and the power of the individual, and the importance of the individual vis-a-vis the so-called "majority."

"My opinion is enough for me, and I claim the right to defend it against any majority, anywhere, anytime. And, anyone who disagrees with that can take a number, get in line, and kiss my ass." C. Hitchens.

[Coito ergo sum]

I gave this some thought, and I like to think that I am an exception to this general rule, if indeed it is a correct rule. However, I think I did inherit quite a bit from dear old mom and daddio.

My parents have often reported that I was impossible as a child. I would accept nothing at face value and I would ask for reasons for everything. I needed things to make sense, and if they didn't I had no fear of countering an adult. I would disagree. I would challenge and test. My teachers would invariably comment to my parents that I would do this, and that they expected I would become a lawyer as a result. In that respect, I part company with them, as they are more subdued and agreeable people, who bow more to authority than I have ever done. I give the finger to authority, for its own sake. They respect authority, out of a sense of decorum.

The basic thing I do share with my dad is an inherent Thoreau-libertarian spirit, and a serious case of "mind your own fucking business" coupled with a fair bit of "live and let live" and "don't give fuck-all about the Joneses." I also inherited from him a sense of self-reliance and a "can do" attitude. I received a dose of bravery, and a cannot-fail-come-what-may attitude. That and an innate desire to be honest, forthright, a fair-dealer and a man of my word, as well as a big-picture guy and not a nickel-and-dimer.

The best example of my dad, although not 100% accurate, but rather close, is the dad, John Walton, on the television show "The Waltons" (American TV in the 1970s). He was a quiet infidel, who although he was ostensibly a god-believer, he doesn't abide groveling or shouting or "have tos" in matters of religion. Generous and kind, quiet, but stands his own ground and is not pushed around. Gives input but lets kids make their own decisions, etc.

I am much like that, but I am more of a "Kill the Buddha" type guy. I want to instill in Little She that if she meets the Buddha on the road, she should kill him. The allegory references the fact that there is no true Buddha - nobody who really "knows" -- so if you meet him, he's a liar or an imposter. It's an old Buddhist Koan about Killing the Buddha.

[mistermack]

Most people think they are doing their best. How many of us have had someone interfere or be annoying and claim "I was only trying to help?"

Still it's more than just our parents we imitate until we perfect the mimicry and claim it identity. Our languages, our dialects, our turn of phrases are all influenced perpetually by others and since the invention of the television this had not even been confined to local influences. The only seeming difference is children copy having no option, adolescents have more influences and thus rebel against the parent state and adults cultivate this and claim it "values" and "morals" and shit like that.

Monkey see, monkey do.

Actually, there is a funny split in where children draw their values from. Little kids get their accent from the kids that they mix with, not from their parents. But they seem to absorb their religion and often their politics from their parents.
The accent is hugely important for kids. If they were to grow up with a different accent, they are likely to get picked on for the rest of their lives, so it's not surprising that they absorb the accent of the kids that they grow up with, rather than from their parents.

[Bella Fortuna]

Maybe not on this forum. But the world in general.
They adopt the religion of their parents, and the political party of their parents.

We become our parents. On average that is. I would not expect ratz to follow that rule to the same extent as others.
Are you trying to turn your kids into you?

I dunno; I'll ask my mum.