By JOHN PLUMMER / VANCOUVER SUN
Added: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 23:00:00 UTC

Letters to the editor page, Vancouver Sun newspaper

The front-page picture in Thursday's Sun sums up the root cause of much of the conflict and trouble in our world right now. A young Pakistani child is shown sitting on an American flag pointing a toy gun at the camera. The headline reads: "Child joins anti-U.S. protest."

But that child didn't join any protest. Neither is it accurate to describe him as a "Shiite Muslim boy." He is a child of Shiite Muslim parents/caregivers who are indoctrinating him in their irrational religious beliefs so that when he grows up he will be as brainwashed as they are now.

For our civilization to advance, for the sake of the security of all of us on this tiny planet, this abuse of children's minds must end. It is unrealistic to try to stop parents raising their children in their religion (their religions command that they do so), but what we can do is stop religious schools perpetuating this endless cycle of mental abuse. Through our school system let us strive to produce young adults who are free-thinking and who have a healthy skepticism of any institution that would attempt to brainwash them.

JOHN PLUMMER
New Westminster
www.smartsociety.org

TAGGED: ABUSE, CHILDREN, RELIGION