What Does the Rising Generation Need to Know?

Families, communities, and nations are stronger when the rising generation are reared to accept personal responsibility for their words and actions and obedience to laws. The scenes on university campuses show out-of-control youths who are rioting because they are not getting what they want. Temper tantrums should be corrected while children are still little.

According to Andrew Chapados at The Blaze, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) (D-N.Y.) criticized the police for holding rioting students at Columbia University accountable for their words and actions. She claimed that the police made a “horrific” choice when they enforced the law against the students. She responded to the deployment of counterterrorism units to the Columbia University campus to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters. 

“Not only did Columbia make the horrific decision to mobilize NYPD on their own students, but the units called in have some of the most violent reputations on the force. NYPD had promised the city they wouldn’t deploy [Special Response Groups] to protests. So why are these counterterror units here?” she posted on X.

Chief John Chell, the NYPD’s chief of patrol, did not like what AOC wrote on X and responded with a sarcastic tone.

“Truly amazing! Columbia decided to hold its students accountable to the laws of the school. They are seeing the consequences of their actions. Something these kids were most likely never taught. Good SAT scores and self-entitlement do not supersede the law. I am sure you would agree that we have to teach them these valuable life skills,” he said, referencing Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks.

“Secondly, I was with those ‘units’ last Thursday that you describe as having, ‘the most violent reputations.’ These ‘units’ removed students with great care and professionalism, not a single incident was reported,” the chief continued.

The chief then made remarks about “anti-Semitic speech” and “vile language” toward police officers. He then asked whether AOC agreed that “any hateful speech is unacceptable.”

Chell went on to say that “hate has no place in our society.”

AOC did not like the response of the police chief and mocked it: “‘Laws of the school?’ That’s not a thing.” She continued:

“The inaccuracy of what constitutes a law in your statement is highly concerning, considering it is law enforcement putting their hands on kids. NYPD promised to not call counterterror SRG units on protests. It’s time to keep your word,” she added.

Mocking the police response was not all that AOC did. On the next day, she visited the protesters on Columbia’s campus. Reports are that she praised the leadership of the pro-Palestinian camp.

“The leadership you have is so fantastic,” AOC said, according to reporter Danny De Urbina. The reporter alleged that one of the protest leaders has been shown on camera calling for the deaths of “Zionists,” equating them to “fascists” and “Nazis.”

Ocasio-Cortez also supported Speaker of the House Mike Johnson getting booed at Columbia, saying that it was “good” that the speaker was being booed because “he’s trying to take all their reproductive rights away.”

“Why would I ever listen to a man that thinks he should have more say over my body than I do? NEXT,” she added.

The rising generation needs to be taught about personal responsibility in their parental home – before they can come under the control of radicals like AOC and liberal college professors.

When parents teach correct principles, it is more difficult for other people to take over. Parents and children with strong principles help to build strong families, and strong families strengthen communities and nations.

Teach Correct Principles

                Families, communities, and nations are stronger when parents and other adults teach correct principles to the rising generation and help them become self-governed adults.  Children and youth need to be taught to think about their actions and the consequences of those actions.  They need to be taught to consider what is right and what is wrong and why they should choose the right.

                A news article out of Florida today shows that parents are always teaching principles to their children – but not always correct principles.  A mother and father took their seven children, ages 3 to 13, into a ToysRUs store in Boca Raton, Florida, and taught them how to become criminals.  A surveillance camera caught the family’s capers on tape; the video showed the children actively helping their parents steal two expensive tablets.  The video did not show any instruction taking place inside the store; therefore, the tutoring sessions must have taken place before the family entered the store.

                This article illustrates clearly that parents can teach good or bad, right or wrong, principles.  Parents who desire to rear responsible children and to help them find happiness as adults will teach correct principles by precept and example.  I found the following articles, one from a secular source and one from a religious source, that included several good ways to rear responsible children.

                Bestselling author Andy Andrew suggested two questions for parents to consider as they rear their children because “no one will change their behavior without clearly understanding why they should.”  These two important questions are:  1) “How does this affect me?” 2) “Is there proof beyond a reasonable doubt this is true?”  [Emphasis added.]

                According to Andrews, a “better course of action” is to explain “why behaving differently is actually in their best interest.”  He said that parents need to forget about “how to raise great kids,” and think about “raising kids who become great adults.”  “We need to teach them how to think, which includes why we believe as we do, and why we make the decisions that we do, and it’ll all be wrapped up in what is in it for them.”

                In an article entitled “Teaching Children to Govern Themselves” the author wrote the following:  “To raise responsible, faithful children we must teach them to govern themselves.  Children who have learned to govern themselves take responsibility for their feelings, thoughts, actions, and decisions.  This includes controlling their emotions and expressing them appropriately.  [Emphasis added.]

                “`President David O. McKay taught that `the best time for the child to learn rules of conformity is between the ages of three and five.…

                “`If mother does not get control of the child during those ages, she will find great difficulty in getting control later.  …I do not mean to push and drag or confine – just let the little child be perfectly free to develop until he goes beyond the bounds of safety.  Then let him feel the gentle but firm hand of restraint.’  (Stepping Stones to an Abundant Life,  Comp. Llewelyn R. McKay, Salt Lake City:  Deseret Book Co., 1971, p. 38.)

                “Since our children will not always be under our supervision, we want to equip them as early as possible to use sound judgment and understand how to evaluate the consequences of their own choices.”  The author then listed several “ideas about how parents can teach and encourage their children to govern themselves.” 

                1.  “Explain the reasons for your decisions.  In his early years, a child has a very hazy idea of cause and effect.  He needs to be taught the nature of things and why certain decisions garner certain results.  Experience is a good teacher in this respect, but parents need to make sure that the experiences are safe for the child and that they explain to him the consequences, both negative and positive, of his behavior….

                “If your child understands the reasons for a rule or a decision, he is much more likely to accept the rule or to make the same decision on his own when you are absent.  Furthermore, he will be more apt to see you as a person with whom he can talk over his problems and decisions….”

                2.  “Teach correct principles.  When the Prophet Joseph Smith said `I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves’ (quoted by John Taylor, Millennial Star, 15 Nov. 1851, p. 339), he gave us a formula for teaching our families….

                “We teach correct principles in many ways.  One of the most important ways is our example.  While there are no guarantees, there is impressive evidence that children tend to govern themselves according to the way their parents govern themselves.  Parents interested in teaching self-government to their children would do well to begin that instruction with a careful self-analysis to determine how well they govern themselves….

                “Sit down with a pencil and paper and take stock of your own desires, appetites, and habits.  Are there any that you feel you do not control?  How can you gain greater control in these areas?

                “Help older children with a similar inventory taking.  Show them of your interest in their self-mastery….”

                3.  “Encourage discipleship.  Those who have mastered self-government have disciplined themselves.  Likewise, children who have learned self-government have been disciplined.  That doesn’t mean their behavior is so strictly enforced by punishment that they are afraid to enjoy life.  Discipline is not punishment….

                “Children become disciples of their parents as they learn to trust their parents’ decisions, admire their integrity, and feel their love.  As that happens, children hopefully will adopt their parents’ values and govern themselves according to those values.  For this reason, it can be said that children will become disciples when their parents become disciples of Christ.

                “Children have much to teach us, as every parents knows but does not always remember.  Becoming disciples together in the quest for better self-government may be one of the most unifying experiences we can have as a family.  It will deepen our love for one another and for the Savior, who was perfectly self-governed.

                “By following the Savior’s example on teachings, we become sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, who can show us everything that we should do.  (See 2 Nephi 32:5.)  By teaching our children to listen to the promptings of the Spirit and to rely on the Lord in making decisions, we help them gain the freedom of righteous self-government.”

                Our world is in desperate need of parents who will act as parents by loving, teaching, training, and preparing their children to become responsible adults.  Our families, communities, and nation will be strengthened when the rising generation is taught correct principles and how to think through the consequences of their choices.

Principles and Morals

Families are strengthened when correct principles and good morals are taught, and parents can use stories, fables, and personal experiences to illustrate the principle or moral being taught. Children remember principles and morals better when they understand how to apply the teachings in their lives.

One of the stories included in Aesop's Fables is about an ant and a grasshopper. The ant worked hard all summer gathering food and preparing for winter. The grasshopper didn't think there was any reason to worry about winter when the sun was shining. The summer ended, and winter came. The grasshopper was dying from hunger when he noticed ants "distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer." Aesop concluded with this moral: "It is best to prepare for the days of necessity."
Of course, this fable would only work to teach children living in a free society where people are responsible to meet their own needs. In a Communist or socialist society, the ant's food would be taken from him and redistributed to the grasshopper.

Another story included in Aesop's Fables is about a goose that laid golden eggs. One morning when a "countryman" went to gather eggs, he found a solid gold egg in the goose's nest. Every morning he found a golden egg in the nest, and he grew rich by selling his eggs. He became greedy and didn't want to wait for the eggs so he killed the goose in order to get all the eggs at once. There were no golden eggs inside the goose, and the goose was dead. Moral: "Greed oft o'er reaches itself." In other words, don't get greedy or you might not have anything!

A story that teaches the importance of honesty is about a boy who called "wolf" too many times. The boy was hired to watch the villagers' sheep and was told that he only had to yell "wolf" for them to come running. One day while he was out with the sheep, he decided to test the "response system" and yelled "wolf!" The villagers came running to fight the wolf and were a little upset that the boy had misused the system. He thought it was exciting to see the villagers come running and yelled "wolf" again. Sure enough, the villagers came running again and were angry at the boy. The next time the boy yelled "wolf," the villagers hesitated but finally ran to help. The boy kept abusing the system, and the villagers grew tired of answering his calls. Then a real wolf came and started to attack the sheep. The boy called "wolf," and the villagers did not come. The boy called "wolf" again, and the villagers did not come. Eventually, someone came and found the sheep all dead. The boy wanted to know why no one came to help when he yelled "wolf" and was saddened to learn that the villagers couldn't tell the difference between a real call for help and the fake ones. Moral: If we want people to believe us when we say something, we have to always be honest.

One of Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales is about an emperor's new clothes. The emperor was so self-centered and materialistic that he could only think about his clothes and could usually be found in his dressing room. One day two swindlers came to town and "made people believe that they were weavers, and declared they could manufacture the finest cloth to be imagined. Their colours and patterns… were not only exceptionally beautiful, but the clothes made of their material possessed the wonderful quality of being invisible to any man who was unfit for his office or unpardonably stupid."
The emperor hired the two swindlers, and the swindlers proceeded with the project. They ordered the finest of silks and gold cloth and asked for money to buy necessary supplies; they pocketed the money and discarded the materials. Then they pretended to manufacture fabric for the emperor's new clothes. Several people observed the manufacturing process but didn't see any fabric. They didn't want people to think they were stupid or unfit for their office so they pretended to see the fabric and exclaimed about its beauty. Even the emperor went to see the fabric and pretended to see it. Eventually the day came when the emperor's new clothes were finished, and the emperor went with his attendants to receive them. None of the people could see the clothes, but all of them pretended to see them. The attendants all advised the emperor to wear the clothes in a great procession in order that everyone in town could see his new clothes.
The swindlers pretended to hold up the new clothes, the emperor pretended to dress, the chamberlains pretended to pick up the train, etc. All the adults in the town exclaimed about the emperor's beautiful clothes, but a little child was the only honest person in town. He cried out, "But he has nothing on at all." Once someone actually admitted that there was nothing there, everyone felt safe to agree. One by one the people were brave enough to join the child in saying, "But he has nothing on at all."
This story shows how bad it is to be politically correct and how important it is to have someone that is unwilling to just pretend. It also depicts the importance of not being so materialistic that we become fools.

Parents can choose from among many stories and fables to help teach correct principles and good morals. Families grow stronger as they learn, understand, and adopt correct principles and good morals.

Virtuous Leaders

The topic of discussion for this Freedom Friday is virtuous leaders. Virtuous leaders can assist and lead their followers to be virtuous and morally strong. The Prophet Joseph Smith recognized this principle of freedom. When he was asked how he governed such a large group of people, he answered, "I teach them correct principles and then they govern themselves."

There are numerous examples in the scriptures of good men leading their people in righteousness. One such man was Enoch, who taught his people so well that the entire city was taken into heaven (Moses 7:23-23). Another good man who led his people in righteousness was Melchizedek, who taught his people so well that he was able to establish peace in the land. He was known as the prince of peace (Alma 13:17-18).

The Founders of our nation knew that leaders must be good men in order to have virtuous and moral people. They also understood the dangers of wicked rulers. James Madison wrote, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary" (The Federalist Papers, No. 51, p 319).

Our Constitution was written for a moral people. There have been numerous times and places in our nation when wicked men were controlling the circumstances. At a time when some of his followers were being persecuted and killed, the Prophet Joseph Smith received the following revelation: "I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free. Nevertheless, when the wicked rule the people mourn. Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil" (Doctrine and Covenants 98:8-10).

The Founders were good, honest and wise men who set up our government in such a way as to keep evilness in check. That is the reason why we have three branches of federal government as well as state governments. At the same time they encouraged good men to become public servants. They knew that a good example could encourage people to become better. Any person who reads about Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, Adams, etc. should feel a sense of pride in the greatness of our Founders. Let us continue to seek for good, honest, and wise men and women to lead our states and nation. When we find them, let's support them!