Fixpoint

Continued from part 2

The kids were all sent to conventional schooling of one sort or another, I suppose to be properly socialized in the "outside" world, which I've been starting to see as nothing but the inside of the larger cult of 'Merica - the more nefarious one for its scale and pervasiveness in the environment.

The organization hosted a day camp in the summers between school sessions. I remember these fondly for the most part; there was instruction in music, visual arts, drama, and some hands-on variety of math or science, punctuated by lightly organized sport, swimming, and at least some time for unstructured outdoor play.⁽ⁱ⁾

Not all was rosy, to be sure. The idea of an inner spark of goodness present in every human,⁽ⁱⁱ⁾ that just needs the right sort of love and attention to kindle, played out bitterly in at least one way. Many families had put off childbearing well past their prime years for the sake of fighting the war, and realized too late either that they wanted kids or that the "about to win, any minute now" wasn't working out. Some, such as my own parents, made it work; others not so lucky turned to adoption, generally from the offerings of more-dysfunctional countries.⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾ Of these, some worked out fine, at least as far as the naked eye could tell; others did not. The camps were plagued by severe behavior problems from these, who would seek attention of any kind by being maximally disruptive and wasting everyone's time. And why shouldn't they anyway, with the "adults" perceiving themselves to have no options and nobody taking a serious stand to put a stop to it?

For my part, I thought of myself as a good kid and was eager to please. My home life, in continuation of my parents' own upbringings, was non-violent; I hesitate to say "peaceful" because there's always conflict of some sort, naturally. Voices were almost never raised, and disagreements generally worked out through discussion (though not always free of emotional "reasoning"). In my case conflicts centered around things I actively disliked doing, such as chores, trying new foods, and setting toys aside when the time called for it.^(iv) My mother was the disciplinarian of the household, while I felt I could count on my father more for cooler evaluations of difficult topics.

To be continued

1. Something I gather has been almost entirely disappearing from modern childhood in this not-so-brave new world of "safetyism" and touchscreen entertainment from the earliest years. [^]
2. Possibly originating from LaRouche's high regard for Christianity (though he didn't require any particular religion or non-religion of members). [^]
3. For reasons I'm unsure of but suspect to be ideological. [^]
4. Things I still sometimes struggle with - go figure! [^]