What one learns from his father

As in many things, the liberal/conservative outlook starts in the home. Here is an essay about that, in particular how power is wielded by parents over children and how that reflects a person's viewpoint when the child becomes an adult. The author, Sara Robinson, reminds readers that this viewpoint is not immutable. She was brought up under a very conservative view of power and is working hard to raise her kids under a liberal view of power. Even so, I see that a conservative view of parental power sounds very similar to a conservative view of the bible. Robinson also notes that parents may not fit entirely in one category or the other. I suspect there may be more than two ways to characterize parental power.

Some aspects of conservative parenting power and its effects:

* Parents are concerned with control -- when in doubt, clamp down hard and fast.
* Break the child's will so that he becomes conforming, obedient, and unquestioning of all forms of authority.
* The authority must be obeyed, no matter what. Authority is invested in the office, such as "grandfather," no matter that the office holder is a pervert.
* The child is granted no personal boundaries.
* The child is to trust rules, tradition, the bible, boss, preacher, and Daddy to tell you what is right, frequently with "because I said so."
* The child learns not to trust his own feelings. Parents aren't interested. They are only concerned about behavior.
* The child does not develop an internal, personal authority. When they rebel (and they will) they have nothing to fall back on and frequently engage in self-destructive behavior.
* Once they define their own authority they learn they must defend it and that defense is usually loud and strong.
* Separating from parents to establish their own lives is usually a showdown that results in separations and long-term scars.

In contrast, some aspects liberal parenting power:

* Parents trust people -- when in doubt, stand back and observe.
* Children are taught by example through interactions with parents.
* The parent governs through consent of the governed -- the parent is respected because he is worthy of respect. Mom can be counted on to treat the child seriously and has a track record of defending the child.
* If an authority figure abuses their authority (grandfather the pervert) the child has the right to disobey and the responsibility to call on other authority figures for defense.
* The learn to create and trust their own their own thoughts and feelings and thus develop a strong sense of internal authority.
* The child becomes confident in their own authority and personal boundaries. When those boundaries must be violated, the adult can supply a good reason.
* The child learns that a reason for authority is to help and defend the weak.
* Separation from parents happens gradually with a willingness to hear the parent's reasons when confronting remaining issues.

Since I've never been a parent one wonders why all this attracted my interest.

I've seen some of this in action from conservative religious leaders:

* The bible is always right, "because it says so." The pastor's interpretation of the bible is always right. Disobeying it carries severe (perhaps implied) punishment. The bible must be portrayed as inerrant and divinely authored, to be worthy of its authority (I've heard a lot about the importance of biblical authority and how one must accept it all or it's all worthless).
* It is the believer who must conform.
* Church leaders are given great respect no matter their abuses.
* If a person is not allowed to develop his own internal authority he must rely on an external authority, such as religion.
* Once a believer accepts the bible as authority, defense of it is loud and strong.

I must have a liberal parenting view of the bible. Some of my beliefs:

* The bible wasn't authored by God, but by people who were mightily impressed by what God did for them and want to share what they experienced. It (and God) earns our respect with its wisdom.
* One is free to debate the importance of various biblical passages and concepts to piece together one's own internal authority.