When we ask why a nation behaves the way it does, the first question we should ask is: “how have children been treated there?” In 2011, I published a thumbnail sketch of the state of childhood in USA. By most critical measures, the USA languished at the bottom of all other affluent ‘democracies’, and below many developing nations. It was a powder-keg. What would happen as more and more of this critical mass of children, raised in neglect and authoritarianism, reached voting age? Cut to November 2016: the scaled-up torment of American children bore bitter fruit. Could it be that, what most refer to as “politics” and “economics”… is in reality a collective Symptom? When is “politics” a shared rationalization driven by fear, suspicion, rage and hurt; deep-set childhood trauma expressed as a set of beliefs?
It has never been clearer that the way we support parents, raise children and educate our young is the greatest determinant of any nation’s future behavior.
Here is that overview of the state of childhood in USA, it was written as an Epilogue to the second edition of my book: “Heart-to-Heart Parenting”.