The Wellspring Logo
wellness workbookWellness Workbook
How To Achieve Enduring Health and Vitality
John W. Travis, M.D. & Regina Sara Ryan
 
top_img1
top_img2
  Home  > Discipline  > Compliance and Conformity: The Hidden Threat

Compliance and Conformity: The Hidden Threat

While a certain level of compliance is necessary to maintain the social order, it is not a quality to be cultivated as a matter of course and without conscience, for it is not necessarily the best choice for our collective future—the classic example being the super-obedience of Nazi Germany. Studies closer to home have illustrated human beings have a frightening capacity to follow orders when given by an authority figure, even if so doing clearly harms innocent people. Compliance condones, and hence perpetuates, not only the very best, but the very worst in our world. Should we consider the possibility that those well-behaved, docile, submissive children, the "good" children, may, in fact, be an even greater threat to the ultimate wellbeing of our planet? Should there be a treatment program devised for overly compliant children? At very least, can we open our minds to perceive a broader perspective, rather than label one end of the continuum as good, the other as bad?

For surely the qualities needed, perhaps more than ever, in our world today are not those of conformity or compliance, but intelligence, courage, enthusiasm, and creativity—the very qualities that many authorities confirm children labeled ADD commonly display. These are the qualities that have driven many of the greatest leaders, artists, and inventors throughout history. These same qualities—that many of our children cannot, or refuse to, hide—are the qualities that expose them to the risk of being identified with behavioral disabilities, rather than being recognized as an expression of courage and autonomy that needs both guidance and avenues for creative expression—not suppression.

All the messiness involved in growing up—the battle of the child's will against the adult's will, the endless restless curiosity, the sudden bursts of anger, excitement, or jealousy—all this unpleasantness can now be avoided... (and controlled)—through a psychopharmaceutical cornucopia of state-of-the-art medications. —Thomas Armstrong, PhD




top_img3
links_heading
Home
right_link_sep
Personal Wellness
right_link_sep
Personal Wellness Lite
right_link_sep
Child / Family
right_link_sep
Global Wellness
right_link_sep
For Professionals
right_link_sep
About
right_link_sep
Contact Us
right_link_sep
right_link_sep
right_link_sep
right_link_bottom
feature_topics_heading
About the Wellspring
About the Wellspring more...
sep
Pregnancy
Over the past decade, revolutionary discoveries in neuroscience and developmental psychology have shattered long-held misconceptions about fetal devel more...
sep
Personal Wellness
Wellness is about you. It is about learning to love your whole self. It is about assuming charge of your life, living in process, and channeling life more...
sep
right_box_top
left_box_bottom

 

top_img4
left_box_bottom
© 2018, Wellness Associates, Inc, All Rights Reserved. Home | Personal Wellness | Personal Wellness Lite | Child/Family | Global Wellness | For Professionals | Resources | About The Wellspring | Contact Us | Advertising Disclaimer | Another site & Search Engine Marketing (SEO) by webko.com.au Byron Bay - Web Design Australia