March 1996 Vol. XIII, No. 2

In Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Books, Mowgli was raised from infancy by a wolf pack. From Mother and Father Wolf and other animals, he learned the Law of the Jungle - natural law. Eventually, he had to come in contact with his own kind, and from the village he learned the consequences of flouting natural law. The story also showed how it took a village to persecute and ostracize one who was different (and superior in many ways), and it took individuals (Mowgli's adoptive human parents) to shelter him and nurture his humanity.

The story of Mowgli is a recurring one. Legend has it that Romulus, founder of the Republic of Rome, was suckled by a she-wolf and reared by a shepherd. A far-fetched story, but less implausible than making him the product of a village.

In his book Up from Slavery, Booker T. Washington, founder of Tuskegee University, explores what it takes to make a hero or an outstanding citizen. His answer was not a village, and especially not a village infused with a plantation mentality. The answer included opportunities to be in contact with exceptional men and women. The biographies of great individuals, such as Abraham Lincoln, confirm Washington's analysis. In a different way, the dearth of modern heroes does also.

But modern educators are right. It takes a village to socialize a child.

The process of socialization, as opposed to rearing, does not aim to educate the student in natural law, or to inspire heroism, or to transmit the ideals of our civilization. It aims to level differences, to enforce conformity in attitudes, and to create a docile workforce to ``compete in a global economy''─ i.e. to instill a plantation mentality. To this end, children are subjected to constant group pressure and estranged from strong individual influences (such as parents). The system places obstacles in the path of those who strive to excel and encourages children to accept mediocrity by flattering their self-esteem.

``It takes a whole village to destroy a child,'' writes Thomas DeWeese, and a program of ``life-long learning'' to keep him submerged. Federal programs such as ``Goals 2000'' are not about raising scores in mathematics, but about coopting children into a global village, in his view. The social engineering teams being installed in the schools - often in the guise of assuring ``access'' to ``comprehensive health care'' - are developing powerful tools to ``help'' children who are ``at risk,'' for example from ``passive child abuse.'' The definition of passive child abuse, as outlined in the Feb. 4, 1994, Congressional Record, is so broad that it could be used to remove a child from the influence of any parent who is not sufficiently cooperative. Symptoms include: a home that's not clean enough; working too much; barring children from outside activities because they are ``inconvenient''; or having ``extremely high or low expectations'' (The DeWeese Report, Feb. 1996, 14140-L Parke Long Court, Chantilly, VA 22021).

The village is not a republic. It is governed by an elite. Computers are a new embellishment, but the goals and methods of this elite were described in 1947 by C.S. Lewis, who wrote: ``I doubt whether we are sufficiently attentive to the importance of elementary textbooks'' (``Men Without Chests'' in The Abolition of Man, or Reflections on Education with Special Reference to the Teaching of English in the Upper Forms of Schools). Lewis wondered whether the products of modern education - the ``trousered ape'' and the ``urban blockhead'' were intended or unexpected. In a sense, it doesn't matter: the disastrous results for Western civilization will be the same, if watchful citizens do not recognize and fight against this agenda. As Lewis explained: ``We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise....We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.''

The cultural and public-health implications of the programs advocated by the new education-``health care'' combine will be dissected by DDP keynote speaker Glen Griffin, M.D., on Saturday, August 3, at the Salt Lake City Airport Hilton. Dr. Griffin is editor emeritus of Postgraduate Medicine and has done first-hand investigative reporting on school-based clinics.

Returning for a repeat performance is Martin Kamen, Ph.D., discoverer of Carbon-14, recipient of the Enrico Fermi Award, and author of the books Isotopic Tracers in Biology and Radiant Science, Dark Politics: a Memoir of the Nuclear Age. Dr. Stanford Penner, Professor of Physics at the University of California at San Diego, will address the question of whether we are using sound scientific procedures in environmental management. Dr. J. Gordon Edwards of San Jose State University will give an update on DDT in the context of resurgent malaria. Dr. Henry I. Miller of the Hoover Institution will speak about the regulatory regime of the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Stanley Monteith will examine developments in the AIDS epidemic. Other confirmed speakers include Sam Cohen, who will discuss the ``Moral Bankruptcy of U.S. National Security Policy''; Cresson Kearny, who will speak on survival techniques and jungle snafus; Conrad Chester, who will survey techniques for surviving in an area of biological contamination; Sharon Packer and Paul Seyfried of Civil Defense Volunteers of Utah; and Arthur Robinson, editor of Access to Energy.

The program will begin Friday afternoon, August 2, with tours of NBC shelters constructed by Civil Defense Volunteers of Utah. There will be a welcome reception Friday evening. The registration fee of $95 will cover two lunches and a banquet. To make hotel reservations, call the Hilton at (800)HILTONS and ask for the special DDP rate of $79 per night. Programs and meeting registration forms will be sent soon by DDP; for advance registration, call (520)325-2680.

Cresson Kearny's efforts to protect our soldiers in Bosnia with ``Mickey Mouse'' boots may be paying off. A letter from Col. Jesse Tolleson stated that these boots are now being issued to troops, along with four other pairs of boots. Unit commanders decide which are to be worn, based on mission, threat, weather, and terrain. The land-mine threat was acknowledged in a letter to Mr. Kearny from John M. Shalikashvil, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Still, as of Feb. 29, an article headlined ``U.S. troops battle `cold injuries' '' showed soldiers standing in icy water, wearing leather boots.

In response to the last issue, Dr. Charles Jenkins wrote from Korea to say that in 1970-71, he wore ``Mickey Mouse'' boots in Anchorage and Fairbanks. His feet would sweat even at -60 degrees. But an article in Alaska, March, 1996, said ``Bye-Bye Bunny Boots.'' Although nothing better has ever been developed, these boots are no longer manufactured. To start from scratch would be prohibitively expensive because the skills have all been lost.

During World War II, cold injuries were the second leading cause of American casualties in Europe. During the battle to take the Aleutian island of Attu, cold caused more deaths than battle wounds. Apparently, Mr. Kearny believes, the U.S. military intends to become increasingly dependent upon high-technology weapons.

The main problem caused by rubber boots is ``prune foot.'' The remedy, Kearny says, is to carry a pair of clean, dry socks and change socks at the end of the working day.

The January issue was in error in blaming the EPA for inability to manufacture ``Mickey Mouse'' boots. Saran is a component of ventilating insoles, not part of the boots. No information on Saran was available through the Freedom of Information Act because the EPA does not file reports by brand name.

Survival in extreme cold will be on the agenda for the DDP meeting.