America's Dangerous Obsession With 'Safety'
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Posted by: Russ Walden ®

07/29/2024, 14:15:06

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Fear Is The Mind-Killer: America's Dangerous Obsession With 'Safety'

In modern America, an obsessive fixation on “safety” has given
rise to a culture of fear, paralyzing action and warping decision-making
across all levels of society.
The conditioning begins early,
with children trained to be fearful rather than competent in facing
challenges or unfamiliar situations. In their formative years, children
are inundated with rules and guidelines, ostensibly designed to maintain
safety. But this only stunts their adventurous spirit, undercuts the
development of real confidence, and provides an excuse to avoid the
uncertain striving necessary for growth.
---

That first paragraph strikes home for me because during most of the "growing up" years of our four children, we lived over a very large, undeveloped canyon in San Diego.  We had no back fence and the canyon was very inviting.  Even the descent down into the canyon was somewhat perilous, but that is where our kids spent most of their time.

"Far from pushing them into danger, allowing children to confront and
overcome challenges on their own provides the ultimate safety — a true
sense of competence.
"

Yup.  It be so.
Russ






Modified by Russ Walden at Mon, Jul 29, 2024, 14:25:27


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Yes. Just. This.
Re: America's Dangerous Obsession With 'Safety' -- Russ Walden Post Reply Top of thread Forum

Posted by: LateForLunch ®

08/06/2024, 00:58:10

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Excessive focus on negative things has traditionally been viewed by competent (genuine) psychotherapists as being a feature of pathology. For example - in the condition known as "borderline schizophrenia" many patients are caught in mode of hyper-awareness of "negative social cues" which skews their mood state toward depression. This becomes a cyclic condition (cyclothymic) in which the paranoid fixations and morbid ideas of reference become engrained as the base personality state. 

Consciously focusing on negative perceptions and aspects of experience can be crippling, especially to young or shy or highly impressionable people.  







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