THE CHILDREN’S DAY.
As it was a holiday, the children accompanied us on our walk, and we
had further opportunity of observing the easy, natural relations
which existed between them and their parents. There was neither undue
familiarity nor too much restraint. There was respect as well as
affection on both sides, and a scrupulous concern for each other’s
feelings. Evidently the children had all the rights they could
appropriate to their advantage, while there was no abrogation of the
privileges or the duties of the parents.
At a convenient time during the afternoon I spoke to Zenith about this
happy condition of family affairs, and I was greatly enlightened and not
a little amused by her reply.
“It was not always so,” she said. “One of the sad chapters of our
history tells us of an unfortunate episode in the family life. In the
early days the father had complete control over his household, even the
lives of its members being at his disposal. But as civilization advanced
the law stepped in and protected the dependent ones from too harsh
punishment and from neglect. In time sympathy for the weak and
unprotected made all corporal punishment unpopular, both at home and
at school, and soon discipline of every kind was much weakened. There
appeared to be a growing impression on the part of the elders that there
could not be any evil in the child’s nature, and so if he were allowed
to grow up without any particular training he would not go far out of
the way. It seemed to be overlooked that this was something new in the
history of the race, that the experiment had never been tried of giving
the youth their own way, from the cradle up. It had been taught from
very early times that the child, for its own future welfare, should
receive correction, and the teaching had never before been departed
from. The parents might just as well have put the reins of family
government in the hands of the children at once, for this is what it
came to in the end. The children, released from all restraint, lost
first their respect for their elders, and then all regard for their
feelings. Instead of love there grew up a careless indifference, and in
place of that tender thoughtfulness so necessary to happiness in this
relation, parents began to receive harsh and even cruel treatment. As
we look back upon it now, it seems strange that the result was not
anticipated, and the trend of events changed by a decided stand against
such an unnatural course. But the approach to a crisis was insidious
and, as I have said, history furnished no parallel from which to draw a
warning.
“Two things made it the worst time in the world for parents to become
lax in their discipline. One was the growing sentiment in favor of
independence which was permeating all classes of society, and the other
the great revival of learning among the people. Given a large class
of persons highly educated and taught to prize personal liberty above
everything else, and still without the discretion that comes only with
years, and what could be expected of them when left with no strong hand
to guide them? The methods of education improved so rapidly, and there
were such constantly increasing opportunities for obtaining knowledge,
that there was some excuse for the children in getting the idea that
they knew more than their fathers and mothers. This belief would not
under any circumstances improve their manners, and at this time it only
caused them to despise still more those who seemed willing to withdraw
all claim to authority over them. Precocity, which had never been
a popular trait, came to the front with no modesty to relieve its
disagreeable character.
“But the conduct of the youth of both sexes was not confined to the
exhibition of bad manners, nor to the mere passive indulgence of an
undutiful spirit. These led gradually to a more serious phase of the
rebellion, the inauguration of a series of petty annoyances, to be
followed, naturally, by acts of downright injustice and cruelty. It
seemed as if the old years of oppression to which, in a ruder age, the
children had been subjected, were about to be repeated, with the parents
for the victims. You must not suppose that these vast changes came about
in the course of one generation. Just as a sentiment in favor of liberty
will be perpetuated in a people from one generation to another, and
increase with the lapse of years, so this feeling of independence
of parental control and this decadence of natural affection were
transmitted from one set of children to the next, and matters grew from
bad to worse.
“At length the behavior of the young people became so notoriously bad
that the matter had to be taken out of the heretofore sacred precincts
of home and treated in a public manner. The press tried to work a
reformation by ridicule and threats, and when this was seen to have no
effect the legislatures took up the subject, and actually passed laws
‘for the relief and protection of oppressed parents,’ and ‘for the
reestablishment of rightful authority in the home.’ These bold measures
so angered the children that they declared they would not submit to such
insults, but would take the matter of making laws, as well as all other
branches of public business, into their own hands. They started their
own organs, which made such silly declarations as this: ‘We are young,
but in all other respects we are superior to our elders. We have more
intelligence, more spirit and courage, we outnumber them two to one,
and, what is better than all the rest, we hold them already in our
power. So why should we not use that power, and go forward and destroy
every vestige of their authority? Let them work and earn our support,
and we will do the rest.’”
“And now,” asked Zenith, “how do you think the affair came out?”
“I confess,” I answered, “that I shall have to give it up.”
“Well,” she continued, “the problem was solved, as so many others in our
career have been, when the needed lesson had been learned, without our
being subjected to the extremely dire results which seemed so imminent;
and I am happy to be able to tell you that relief came through the
efforts of one of my own sex. Just before the last ounce was added
to the weight of foolishness and error which was to turn the world
completely over, a girl made her appearance with sense enough to call a
halt. She happened to be editing one of the fiery journals of her class,
when it struck her one day that they were carrying the thing too far.
She had the courage to say so, and got roundly abused for it. She
persisted, obtained adherents and helpers, and soon a decided reaction
set in. Like a house of cards, which a breath will destroy, the unstable
structure the children had built fell to the ground, never to be
restored.
“The lesson was not forgotten, and the experience, which appears
laughable now, has been of great benefit to us at different times since.
But the broadening of our minds and the general improvement in our
character have long ago placed us beyond the danger of a recurrence of
such events. Compared to our present state those were the days of our
infancy.”
As Zenith closed I told her I had enjoyed her story, and that I hoped
the earth would not require such a lesson.
“I trust not,” said Zenith.