WHEN DOES PROTECTION BECOME DANGEROUS?

We are living in a society obsessed with protection. It seems quite apparent. Safety is the big thing from schools to industry, we hear the word constantly. Safety hats, safety shoes, safety glasses to kids having to wear safety helmets, knee-pads safety belts on and on it goes penetrating every aspect of our society ... but can "protection" become dangerous? When does protection actually weaken the individual? When does well meaning, even necessary protection make us vulnerable to the realities of life? Living carefree in a beautiful protective bubble shields us from a real and dangerous world, a world of billions of tough, strong and alert people.

A thought along that line.

As a young girl my mother lived on a farm. She had opportunities to watch little chicks hatch. Oh how the chicks struggled as they slowly worked their way out of their eggshell. Her heart went out to these little struggling chicks, so small and helpless. In time emotion got the best of her. Why couldn't she help the chicks? She was strong able and willing ... so she started helping the chicks, eliminating their struggle, only to find that what she really did was to cripple many of the chicks, in fact a few died.

At her young age my kind hearted mother didn't understand what she was doing; instead of helping she actually was crippling and killing those she loved. She didn't understand that the tough eggshell and process of struggling was all part of a well laid out divine plan to strengthen the new chick and prepare him for life. The struggle was necessary. The struggle was essential ... but the struggle was hard to watch.

Like my mother, our well meaning leaders have become obsessed with eliminating the struggle in life, thus weakening and dumbing down the very individuals they are leading. No more thorns, spikes, sharp-edges. No more bare feet or painful falls: a smoothing of the path into fantasy land ... the great American bubble.

I see this thing played out with so many loving mothers and their children. Mothers innocently crippling the very kids they love simply because they aren't really thinking this thing out. Over protection of a child can only produce a weak man or woman ... and weak men and women produce a weak America.

Unfortunately, too often emotion trumps common sense to the hurt of us all. Don't over protect!