"Babies are born bad"

There seem to be two schools of thought in this world about ourselves.

One theory goes like this: People are born bad. Babies are badness. As such, they must be beaten and controlled and trained to be good. "Spare the rod, spoil the child." I cannot think of a more reprehensible, offensive, nasty -- evil -- view of the world. If there's a devil, this is how the devil would think.

Then there is the other view: People are born innocent. Babies are good. As they are exposed to this world, they are exposed to badness. Given their innate strengths and weaknesses, some are tempted by it, even beyond the age when they know better. Given this, it makes sense to me that it's only good to nurture the child, giving love.

Some thoughts on this, offered here on this Easter Sunday, after the jump.

Personally I cannot fathom the "babies born bad" view of the world. It certainly goes against all my experience. Babies are bundles of love and trust. They have to be taught pettiness and abusiveness. They have to be taught envy and pride. I don't see how beating the child does anything but improve this teaching. Children need to be taught hate -- and they are. Hate the Jews. Hate the gays. Hate the Yanks. Hate the French. Hate the Arabs. Hate hate hate.

Now the "babies born bad" people are running our government. And their attitudes about the nature of life are showing up in their legislation. "We the People" are now considered inherently bad. "We the People" are not to be trusted. "We the People" are one step from "evil incarnate" -- and unless the "babies born bad" folks take steps to keep "We the People" in line, well, all hell will break loose -- literally.

This strikes me as patently un-American. Who are these "babies born bad" people to claim authority over all of our lives? Did our ancestors, our Founding Fathers, fight and die for Freedom just to have a bunch of self-appointed evil-seers take the place of the King?

What is really telling to those of us who went to Sunday school is how these "babies born bad" folks seem to live lives in diametric opposition to the teachings of Jesus, whom they claim to worship. The Jesus I studied taught of love and peace. The Jesus I studied taught of compassion and giving. The Jesus I studied taught of acceptance of others.

Later, when I became acquainted with other faiths around the world, I saw how Jesus' teachings were so much like Buddha's and so many others. It's a global faith in love and peace.

How did we end up here? There is so much beauty and wonder in the world. Nature is magnificent in its richness and mystery. It is our cradle. And there is so much beauty and wonder in our own creations. Look at the marvels of our civilizations. Our cities, our great public works, our architecture, our institutions for caring for the people in need.

And yet we fall so short. This is our failing. Starvation, epidemics, wars, poverty -- these are our failings.

So what are we to do? Get out the rod and beat on these people? Beat on the poor to get them in line? Beat on the ill to get them in line? Beat on the elderly to get them in line? That seems to be the approach of those "people born bad" folks leading our government. And it's all an extension of this basic notion they've learned to embrace: People are born bad!

What an awful way to view ourselves. What an awful way to try to run the world.

Shouldn't "We the People" do better? Doesn't the world deserve better?