"Jesus Camp" and memes

Whew...I'm on a roll with the religious stuff tonight. But, the following comments aren't really about religion but about agendas.

If you have not seen "Jesus camp" you have got to see it! The whole film is troubling and interesting, but the most interesting thing from my perspective...and this relates back to the "sheltering" post, is listening to these parents and "preacher" who obviously truly love their kids and believe they have their best interests in mind! Juxtaposing this against what one might consider "more progressive" agendas/values and formulaic approaches to these things is really interesting and thought provoking.

memes: "self replicating ideas passed from brain to brain via behavior and the imitation of behavior. Memes exhibit the features of evolution. They are inherited in that they are copied. They vary in that the copying is not exact, but is subject to subtle and larger mutations through imperfect copying. There is a process of selection in which the memes that survive will tend to be those that are highly MEMORABLE, useful, or PROVOKE AN EMOTIONAL RESPONSE."

In "With Consent...", Jan Fortune-Wood makes the statement about memes that "Even when we rebel, we may often find that we are doing little more than buying into the same meme from another angle." She gives an example of Patrick, whose parents were both alcoholics but who believes he has "beaten the meme of alcoholism but in fact he is still playing it out. He sees the world through the lense of this meme..." surrounding his fears that his son will have an interest in drinking alcohol.

She also gives an example of Susan. Susan is greatly influenced by "natural living" in her parenting, but comes to realize that she wants to be treating her children as "unique individuals rather than according to a...stereotype of what may or may not be 'natural.'" She begins to question the "natural living" memeplex and starts to feel "disenchanted." However "there are some important insights within the natural living memeplex" and Susan starts to be able to see...that although this "memeplex" of natural living does not have all the answers that there are some "very valuable insights" there, along with some "very coercive ideas."

This relates to what I was saying about "living by avoidance." Like, maybe the focus on avoidance of these things (like, say, behaviorism out in the world or...hmmm...not wanting to be around kids with spider man clothes on...lol, I'm kidding for sake of example!) is living out the same meme from another angle. I think it's so important for focus to be on the bigger picture in the relationship, what it is that we do want to do...what we are bringing to/giving in the relationship. How we are an advocate, a support system. The people in the relationship and what they want and need.