Author Dr. Robert Saul

Raising Young Citizens in the Age of Columbine

Freedom and children

By

One of the joys of having more time to read is being exposed to a variety of articles and books.  I try to be listening to one book on my walks and reading another book at night.  That formula suits my ever-racing mind in its quest for knowledge on my life-long learning journey.

I just started ON FREEDOM by Professor Timothy Snyder and I am finishing JAMES by Percival Everett.1,2  Timothy Snyder had previously provided some food-for-thought with his book ON  TYRANNY: TWENTY LESSONS FOR THE 21st CENTURY when I was reflecting on parenting.3  His insights into the world around us serve to hold up a mirror and give us pause as we analyze that reflected image.  Percival Everett, just awarded the National Book Award for JAMES, retells the story of Huck Finn from the perspective of the slave, Jim, providing a haunting reminder of man’s inhumanity when freedom is suppressed.

Let me start with the concept of freedom as put forth by Professor Snyder.  He describes freedom as having five main forms—sovereignty, unpredictability, mobility, factuality, and solidarity.  I am sure that I will be able to learn more about Snyder’s vision of freedom, but I was so struck by my early readings that I am compelled to write now and see how the concept of freedom is an essential need for children in our society.

In the Preface to ON FREEDOM, Snyder notes that most people think of freedom as the absence of oppression or the removal of oppressive forces.  If the Russians withdraw from Ukraine, will Ukraine then be free?  When the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, were the slaves free? When all of the incarcerated Japanese Americans during WWII in California were released, were they free?  He would argue “no”—that freedom is not just the absence of evil, oppression, artificial restrictions and other factors but the presence of good also.  We need structures, both moral and political, that are good.  These structures must have virtues.  These structures must enable all to fulfill their lives.  His quote reverberated in my head, “Freedom is not an absence of evil but a presence of good,” as I consider my role going forward to promote the healthy lives of children and families.

Let’s consider Snyder’s view of children and their potential for freedom.

  • “We are told that [children] are ‘born free’:   We are born squalling, attached to an umbilical cord, covered in a women’s blood.  Whether we become free depends on the actions of others, upon the structures that enable those actions, upon the values that enliven those structures—only then upon a flicker of spontaneity and the courage of our own choices.”  If we consider freedom as the absence of something (i.e., negative freedom), we neglect to take the proper actions to enable the presence of good to thrive.  And these latter actions are critical to the growth and development of our children.  If we consider the spectrum of child development to adult health, we now know that adverse childhood experiences will likely induce trauma in the child, leading to future mental health/behavioral issues and adult-manifest diseases (hypertension, obesity, diabetes and others). Dr. Andy Garner and I documented this at length in the first edition of our book, THINKING DEVELOPMENTALLY: NURTURING WELLNESS IN CHILDHOOD TO PROMOTE LIFELONG HEALTH.4  In the upcoming second edition, we will provide evidence that positive childhood experiences, in abundance, can significantly overcome many negative influences.  But it should be noted that the absence of adverse childhood experiences (negative freedom) is inadequate to provide adequate nurturing for the future.   The former (positive childhood experiences) is Snyder’s presence of good, and the latter (lacking adverse childhood experiences) is the absence of evil.
  • “Those who care about childhood should care about freedom, and those who care about freedom should care about children.” This translates into the presence of people, systems, structures and social resolve to maximize opportunities for our children.
  • “Individual freedom is a social project.” He notes that children need safe, stable nurturing relationships (SSNRs) that provide physical and verbal contact, unstructured play and choices.  Our village must step up to provide what children need and to enable families to be successful.5  Medical care, mental health services and educational opportunities should be guaranteed, not income, zip code or ethnic dependent.
  • “The work of freedom begins at birth.” If we do not take our duties to provide good from the very beginning for all children, we are severely compromising their ability to enjoy the fruits of freedom.
  • “Freedom requires capacity, capacity requires attention in childhood, and attention requires time.” Capacity, attention and time all require a society that values all segments of society and seeks to provide those qualities copiously.  It simply is not the absence of barriers but the open doors for the necessary opportunities.

On one hand I am reading about Professor Snyder’s construct for freedom.  And almost simultaneously I am reading JAMES and confronted with the reality with the barriers that have been constructed by our society in the past.

  • “White folks expect us to sound a certain way and it can only help if we don’t disappoint them. The only ones who suffer when they are made to feel inferior is us.  Perhaps I should say ‘when they don’t feel superior’”  Jim was explaining to his children the realities of the life of slaves, to act subservient at all times.  In this situation, even in the absence of servitude, freedom would be lacking without the presence of good.
  • “Good ain’t got nuttin’ to do with the law. Law says I’m a slave.”  These words by Jim to Huck as they were floating down the Mississippi are a poignant reminder that even a nation of laws can use laws for perverse purposes.  Bad, immoral laws can exist and deserve repeal.  Subjugation of some is really the subjugation of all and compromises the freedom for all.
  • “Yes, but them people liked it, Jim. Did you see their faces?  They had to know them was lies but they want to believe.  What do you make of that?” [Huck] “Folks be funny lak dat.  Dey takes the lies dey want and throws away the truths dat scares them.”[Jim] When I read this interchange between Huck and Jim, I thought about 2024 and how lies have dominated our culture and compromise our collective freedom.  Good does not exist in an atmosphere of lies.
  • “We’re slaves. We’re not anywhere.  Free person, he can be where he wants to be.  The only place we can ever be is in slavery.”  Spoken by a fellow slave, I was disheartened to think about the plight of these folks.  I would argue that contemporary society is not much different if we see freedom in a negative way and do not seek to do the necessary good.

These two books through different ways helped remind me how critical freedom is for children.  We cannot just be content with removing barriers, but we must be constructing systems, capacity, and time for parents and communities to supply “good” that will lead to thriving children and families.  Only then can even begin to aspire to be a free country that values its children.

 

  1. Snyder T. On Freedom. Crown, New York; 2024. 345pp.
  2. Everett P. James. Doubleday; 2024. 320 pp.
  3. https://mychildrenschildren.com/the-lessons-of-tyranny-for-parenting-2/
  4. Garner A, Saul R. Thinking Developmentally: Nurturing Wellness in Childhood to Promote Lifelong Health. American Academy of Pediatrics publishing; 2018. 155 pp.
  5. https://mychildrenschildren.com/it-takes-a-village-it-really-does/