Friday, January 23, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The myth of Icarus
I heard a song by Thrice called "The Melting Point of Wax". It tells the tale of Icarus and Daedalus from Icarus' point of view.
For those who don't know the story, Icarus and his father Daedalus were imprisoned on an island. Daedalus was very handy and he fashioned wings out of feathers and wax, and the two of them attempted to fly off the island. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun but curiosity got the best of him and he flew higher and higher until the wax in his wings melted and he fell to the sea and drowned. It is usually told as a cautionary tale to children to be careful to follow instructions.
The Thrice song however takes a different approach to the story portraying Icarus as rebellious, and that he deliberately flew close to the sun, without any care for the consequences.
This brings me to my point. I wonder what kind of controlling father Daedalus must have been if Icarus felt that he had to defy his warning to see for himself. I realized that there is a similar issue in many frum homes. Parents who shelter their children from everything in the outside world, telling them that everything is assur, and when those children get old enough to realize that they've been lied to, they feel that they can't believe anything that they were taught, and they end up trying everything for themselves, even things that will do some serious damage to themselves (physically or emotionally).
It amazes me that people these days still try to absolutely shelter their children from the world around them. I think that in the 21st century its virtually impossible for someone to lead their entire life without ever experiencing contact with the outside world and the other views, beliefs, and religions that are in the world. I think that by sheltering your children to an absolute degree you are making certain that they will be woefully unprepared for the inevitable day that they experience something outside of their world and they realize that they've been lied to. At that point they are able to make their own decisions about what is wrong and right, they will want to rebel against everything that their overbearing parents told them, even if it is to their own detriment.
Like Thrice says in the song: "How will I know limits from lies if I never try?".
What I take from the song/story:
Don't lie to your kids. Don't tell them that things are assur if they're not assur. It will eventually backfire. Although telling the truth is much harder, your kids wil be better people in the end.
For those who don't know the story, Icarus and his father Daedalus were imprisoned on an island. Daedalus was very handy and he fashioned wings out of feathers and wax, and the two of them attempted to fly off the island. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun but curiosity got the best of him and he flew higher and higher until the wax in his wings melted and he fell to the sea and drowned. It is usually told as a cautionary tale to children to be careful to follow instructions.
The Thrice song however takes a different approach to the story portraying Icarus as rebellious, and that he deliberately flew close to the sun, without any care for the consequences.
This brings me to my point. I wonder what kind of controlling father Daedalus must have been if Icarus felt that he had to defy his warning to see for himself. I realized that there is a similar issue in many frum homes. Parents who shelter their children from everything in the outside world, telling them that everything is assur, and when those children get old enough to realize that they've been lied to, they feel that they can't believe anything that they were taught, and they end up trying everything for themselves, even things that will do some serious damage to themselves (physically or emotionally).
It amazes me that people these days still try to absolutely shelter their children from the world around them. I think that in the 21st century its virtually impossible for someone to lead their entire life without ever experiencing contact with the outside world and the other views, beliefs, and religions that are in the world. I think that by sheltering your children to an absolute degree you are making certain that they will be woefully unprepared for the inevitable day that they experience something outside of their world and they realize that they've been lied to. At that point they are able to make their own decisions about what is wrong and right, they will want to rebel against everything that their overbearing parents told them, even if it is to their own detriment.
Like Thrice says in the song: "How will I know limits from lies if I never try?".
What I take from the song/story:
Don't lie to your kids. Don't tell them that things are assur if they're not assur. It will eventually backfire. Although telling the truth is much harder, your kids wil be better people in the end.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
