[at-l] what is safety, and/or America's wimpification?
rcli4 at comcast.net
rcli4 at comcast.net
Thu Mar 8 13:52:15 CST 2007
And these very small losses are acceptable until it is your child or grandchild that gets hurt.
Clyde
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Clark Wright" <icw at wardanddavis.com>
> So true - so true . . . and what we as parents and voters and jurors and
> citizens need to keep in mind is that there WILL be some (very, very small
> as a percentage) number of deaths, injuries and accidents associated with
> living an exploring, adventuresome - meaningful - life . . . and we need to
> be better prepared to fight with our own words, votes and actions so that
> this simple, tough reality does not scare us off from what is such an
> important part of growth, development and LIFE itself!
>
> Thru-Thinker
>
> I. Clark Wright, Jr.
> Ward and Davis, LLP
> 409 Pollock Street
> New Bern, NC 28560
> 252-633-1101
> 252-633-9400 (fax)
> 252-229-5900 (cell)
>
>
> _____
>
> From: pudscrawler at aol.com [mailto:pudscrawler at aol.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 8:03 PM
> To: icw at wardanddavis.com; at-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: Re: [at-l] what is safety, and/or America's wimpification?
>
>
> Very persuasive argument, Thru Thinker. I, as a retired middle and high
> school teacher as well as the mother of three adventuresome daughters, back
> you 100% in your goals of letting your children test the waters and find
> their mettle. They will build character in doing so, and that will help
> them live their lives well.
>
> Kinnickinic
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: icw at wardanddavis.com
> To: at-l at backcountry.net
> Sent: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 3:31 PM
> Subject: [at-l] what is safety, and/or America's wimpification?
>
>
> In reading the thread triggered by scouting tents and such, I am reminded of
>
> one of the most important, and difficult dilemmas of our time - namely, our
>
> desire - whether as a parent, scout leader, government official, medical
>
> services provider, teacher, coach or insurance adjuster to AVOID danger and
>
> protect those in our charge or care, versus what I believe is a critical
>
> need that we INTENTIONALLY EXPOSE our children (and ourselves) to danger in
>
> order to help them grow and learn and better be able to take care of
>
> themselves and others as they grow older. To me, a VERY important lesson
>
> can be found in the science of vaccination . . . at the risk of trying to
>
> sound like a "doctor" who knows what he is talking about only by virtue of
>
> being the son of one and through 40 years of experience with various forms
>
> of outdoor advenure, camps, etc.[and perhaps also by virtue of having stayed
>
> in a Holiday Inn Express last night! :)] - anyhow, as I understand the
>
> science and medical art of vaccines, the whole idea is to intentionally
>
> expose your body's immune system to danger in the form of a greatly reduced
>
> form of the deadly disease so that your body's immune system can toughen up,
>
> grow up, and otherwise learn how to fight that disease off. While it is a
>
> bit of a simplification, and varies from vaccine to vaccine, the general
>
> gist of the process is that once your body learns how to fight that disease,
>
> that knowledge remains valuable for life. The issue of oversue of
>
> antibiotics and resulting emergence of superbugs that resist treatment is
>
> sort of the opposite end of the same issue . . . in short, one of the
>
> lessons of medicine is that your body needs to be exposed to some illnesses
>
> and diseases in order to better grow into a competent disease fighting
>
> machine - and, up to a pretty high point, the more "bad" stuff you are tough
>
> enough to take, the better off you are for it afterwards . . .
>
>
>
> I believe as a society that we face the difficult and daunting task of
>
> trying to apply these same principles to our everyday lives - and
>
> especially in our critically important efforts to promote exposure to
>
> outdoor experiences for all children, and all adults, too. How do we best
>
> find ways to allow controlled exposures to danger in order to reap the
>
> incredibly important life-long positive benefits of improved physical
>
> fitness, improved sense of self-worth, improved understanding of the harsh
>
> and beautiful realities of nature, and improved abilities to get closer to
>
> the incredible experience of self-reliance - how do we best accomplish all
>
> that in a day and age where we also are much more knowledgeable about the
>
> potential adverse effects of too much danger, whether in the form of
>
> epidemiological studies that tell us for CERTAIN that SOME kid (or adult)
>
> somewhere WILL DIE as a result of . . . [you name it - fill in the blank
>
> here with: vaccinations, tough football practices, challenging playground
>
> equipment, letting your kid ride his or her bike around the neighborhood,
>
> long distance hiking, long distance running, not treating every flu symptom
>
> with an immediate dose of antibiotics, etc.] . . . some kids (and adults)
>
> WILL DIE! On the other hand, we never try to study how many kids (and
>
> adults) in essence DIE - literally and figuratively - due to the ABSENCE of
>
> significant challenges in their lives, whether physical, mental or
>
> immunilogical. It is not so easy to measure those deaths, but I am
>
> confident that they are grossly in excess of the very small percentages in
>
> the "dangerous activity" categories I mentioned above.
>
>
>
> In the end, the key is for us to better educate ourselves, our governments,
>
> and our scout, church and other group leaders about the true risks of NOT
>
> offering these challenges and risks. We need to find ways to reasonably
>
> reduce unnecessary risks, but at the same time to embrace controlled risks
>
> as perhaps the most important teaching and growing tools of all. I don't
>
> have any easy answers, and I sometimes lapse into a nattering nabob of
>
> negativism decrying all the insurance forms, ridiculous governmental
>
> protectionism, etc. - but then I remind myself that it is US, whether as
>
> jurors, voters, local leaders, uninvolved sideline carpers versus involved
>
> participants, etc. - it is US that ultimately and collectively decide on
>
> these matters. I think we need to find positive ways to educate our friends
>
> and fellow citizens about the critical importance of finding ways to ALLOW
>
> more risk in our lives - at least in certain situations where we know from
>
> experience that the rewards greatly outweigh the potential costs.
>
>
>
> In the end, I think of my summer camp days in the NC mountains back in the
>
> 1970s where I was allowed to learn to rock climb - and not just to do some
>
> overprotected top-roped route, but to advance and qualify through rigorus
>
> training and testing to the point where I was allowed to actually lead
>
> non-trivial routes on some large NC mountain faces . . . ditto re our long
>
> distance hiking experiences, whitewater canoeing, lifesaving courses - and
>
> later our scout troop's willingness to go outside the traditional scouting
>
> trip framework for other adventures . . . those relatively brief but intense
>
> and incredibly rearding experiences as a bright, but geeky kid facing
>
> adolescence did more for my at the time very vulnerable senses of
>
> self-worth, self-confidence and ability to face the future than anything in
>
> any book or classroom every could have done . . . I would not trade them for
>
> anything, and it will be my lasting effort as a parent to give my two kids
>
> the same experiences, and to me that is one of the most important
>
> experiential lessons of a thru-hike for kids of any age!
>
>
>
> Thru-Thinker
>
>
>
> I. Clark Wright, Jr.
>
> Ward and Davis, LLP
>
> 409 Pollock Street
>
> New Bern, NC 28560
>
> 252-633-1101
>
> 252-633-9400 (fax)
>
> 252-229-5900 (cell)
>
>
>
>
>
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