The Last Rebels: 25 Things We Did as Kids That Would Get Someone Arrested TodayBy Daisy Luther Heres the problem with all of this babying: it creates a society of weenies. There wont be more more rebels because this generation has been frightened into submission and apathy through a deliberately orchestrated culture of fear. No one will have faced adventure and lived to greatly embroider the story. Kids are brainwashed yes, brainwashed into believing that the mere thought of a gun means youre a psychotic killer waiting for a place to rampage. They are terrified to do anything when they arent wrapped up with helmets, knee pads, wrist guards, and other protective gear. Parents cant let them go out and be independent or theyre charged with neglect and the children are taken away. Woe betide any teen who uses a tool like a pocket knife, or heck, even a table knife to cut meat. Lighting their own fire? Good grief, those parents must either not care if their child is disfigured by 3rd-degree burns over 90% of his bodyor theyre purposely nurturing a little arsonist. Heaven forbid that a child describe another child as black or, for that matter, refer to others as girls or boys.No actual descriptors can be used for the fear of offending that person, and offending someone is incredibly high on the hierarchy of Things Never To Do. Free range parenting is all but illegal and childhood is a completely different experience these days. All of this babying creates incompetent, fearful adults. Our children have been enveloped in this softly padded culture of fear, and its creating a society of people who are fearful, out of shape, overly cautious, and painfully politically correct. They are incredibly incompetent when they go out on their own because theyve never actually done anything on their own. When my oldest daughter came home after her first semester away at college, she told me how grateful she was to be an independent person. She described the scene in the dorm. I had to show a bunch of them how to do laundry and they didnt even know how to make a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, she said. Apparently they were in awe of her ability to cook actual food that did not originate in a pouch or box, her skills at changing a tire, her knack for making coffee using a French press instead of a coffee maker, and her ease at operating a washing machine and clothes dryer. She says that even though she thought I was being mean at the time I began making her do things for herself, shes now glad that she possesses those skills. Hers was also the room that had everything needed to solve everyday problems: basic tools, first aid supplies, OTCmedicine, and home remedies. I was truly surprised when my daughter told me about the lack of life skills her friends have. I always thought maybe I was secretly lazy and that was the basis on my insistence that my girls be able to fend for themselves, but it honestly prepares them for life far better than if I was a hands-on mom that did absolutely everything for them. They need to realize that clothing does not get worn and then neatly reappear on a hanger in the closet, ready to be worn again. They need to understand that meals do not magically appear on the table, created by singing appliances a la Beauty and the Beast. If the country is populated by a bunch of people who cant even cook a box of macaroni and cheese when their stoves function at optimum efficiency, how on earth will they sustain themselves when they have to not only acquire their food, but must use off-grid methods to prepare it? How can someone who requires an instruction manual to operate a digital thermostat hope to keep warm when their home environment it controlled by wood they have collected and fires they have lit with it? How can someone who is afraid of getting dirty plant a garden and shovel manure? Did you do any of these things and live to tell the tale? WhileI did make my children wear bicycle helmets and never took them on the highway in the back of a pick-up, many of the things on this list were not just allowed, they were encouraged. Before someone pipes up with outrage (because theyre *cough* offended) Im not suggesting that you throw caution to the wind and let your kids attempt to hang-glide off the roof with a sheet attached to a kite frame. (Ive got a scar proving that makeshift hang-gliding is, in fact, a terrible idea). Common sense evolves, and I obviously dont recommend that you purposely put your children in unsafe situations with a high risk of injury. But, let them be kids. Let them explore and take reasonable risks. Let them learn to live life without fear. Raise your hand if you survived a childhood in the 60s, 70s, and 80s that included one or more of the following, frowned-upon activities (raise both hands if you bear a scar proving your daredevil participation in these dare-devilish events): Come on, be honest. Tell us what crazy stuff you did as a child. We didnt get trophies just for showing up. We were forced, yes, forced to do actual work and no one called protective services. And we gained something from all of this. Our independence. Do you really think that children who are terrified by someone pointing his finger and saying bang are going to lead the revolution against tyranny? No, they will cower in their tiny apartments, hoping that if they behave well enough, theyll continue to be fed. Do you think our ancestors who fought in the revolutionary war were afraid to climb a tree or get dirty? Those of us who grew up this way (and who raise our children to be fearless) are the resistance against a coddled, helmeted, non-offending society that aims for a dependent populace. In a country that was built on rugged self-reliance, we are now the minority. Nurture the rebellion this summer. Boot them outside. Get your kids away from their TVs, laptops, and video games. Get sweaty and dirty. Do things that makes the wind blow through your hair. Go off in search of the best climbing tree you can find. Shoot guns. Learn to use a bow and arrow. Play outside all day long and catch fireflies after dark. Do things that the coddled world considers too dangerous and watch your children blossom. Teach your kids what freedom feels like. Daisy Luther lives in a small village in the Pacific Northwestern area of the United States. She is the author ofThe Organic Canner,The Pantry Primer: A Preppers Guide to Whole Food on a Half-Price Budget, and the soon-to-be-released The Preppers Water Survival Guide: Harvest, Treat, and Store Your Most Vital Resource.On her website, The Organic Prepper, where this article first appeared. Daisy uses her background in alternative journalism to provide aunique perspective on health and preparedness, and offers a path of rational anarchy against a system that will leave us broke, unhealthy, and enslaved if we comply. Daisys articles are widely republished throughout alternative media.You can follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. 22/25 here not enough hands here, here in the UK I had the luck to grow up on a farm, but we didnt have peanut butter and jam sandwiches, snakes and I never remember getting lines I had the privilege of doing most of the 25 and I turned out fine. I even allowed my children to do most of those things only because I wanted them to experience life and be self-sufficient and independent thinkers. The PC crowd has taken over and their agenda is a UN Agenda 21 scenario. Scary. All 25 and way more,growing up in the 50`s early 60`s. Back about 1960, before we made the bomb shelter, wed stack newspapers floor to ceiling in the basement and shoot targets with .22s. (Mpls. MN) I forgot Mumblety Peg. I guess the risk there was throwing a knife into your foot. Excellent article and a true reading enjoyment. Inspiring that there are others who still retain the greater value of common sense and appreciate the great benefits and wisdom of liberty despite its petty risks. Who could have imagined 5 or 6 decades ago it would be an acceptable norm to raise future generations of bubble boys and girls. But I can see the advantages to an evolving tyrannical socialist government in having a sissified, compliant, weak and stupefied electorate. I grew up witrh 8 brothers and sisters. By the time we were ten years old, all of us were capable of riding a horse bareback without reins, ride a year old bullcalf for 8 seconds, shoot a 22 or a 12 guage and hit the target, keep our knife honed and do a days work before taking our place at the dinner table. We had chores to do and in the summer, that included farming at my uncles farm. We even had to endure our mothers anatomy classes when we butchered our livestock. We could watch Annette Funechellos Mickey Mouse Club, Fred-n-Feys, and Sheriff Scotty If our homework and chores were done. We were allowed to play cboys n injuns on our horses and we made our own bows n arrows, and yes, there were injuries, but we survived. Our parents were stearn but loving and taught us how to be self reliant and dependable. Could you ask for anything more? Oh Yeah, and we used to piss our granpaw off by climbing his trees and daring him to come get us. But I think it was just his act to get us to scream and giggle. yeah but we didnt run aroud with automatics either What are you talking about? Automatics Are you under the delusion that fully automatic weapons are easily obtained? i still enjoy most all of that listedyea, right! Cant mend like i used to. Grew up in the English countryside surrounded by farms. I did most of the things on your list and plenty more besides (and have a few scars too). Both of my brothers were much older than me so I spent a lot of time playing on my own, building bonfires, letting off fireworks, going for long exploratory walks through fields that sometimes contained dangerous bulls and with treacherous bogs and ditches to be crossed. I also went fishing alone and didnt drown once! Later on I befriended some kids at one of the farms and wed spend all day surrounded by myriad hazards whilst riding our bicycles like maniacs around the superb obstacle course that a working farm provides. We built carts with no brakes to race down the steep hill next to the farm, whilst keeping a sharp eye out for the frequent tractors and other vehicles that used the same piece of road. No-one died and injuries were rare. Yes, a society of weenies is easier to conquer, subdue, control and enslave. Scary, Huh. If the country is populated by a bunch of people who cant even cook a box of macaroni and cheese when their stoves function at optimum efficiency, how on earth will they sustain themselves when they have to not only acquire their food, but must use off-grid methods to prepare it? How can someone who requires an instruction manual to operate a digital thermostat hope to keep warm when their home environment it controlled by wood they have collected and fires they have lit with it? How can someone who is afraid of getting dirty plant a garden and shovel manure? Its all in the plan Great article, great web site..finally some sanity.. 