When I came across this video, I couldn't tell if it was satirical or serious. In it, sweet Kim leaves for college after saying goodbye to her parents and boyfriend. Nine months later, she returns pregnant, angry, and spouting off information about the South American rain forests.
The College Casualty from Mark Nauroth on Vimeo.
At the end, the dad reveals the video's purpose: it's an ad for College Weekend Workshop, a course broadcast live over the Internet and into churches with the purpose of preparing Christian students for college so they can get a degree without losing the faith. College Weekend Workshop says that too often, saying yes to college means saying no to God.
Using some confusing humor, the group wants to tap into parents' fears that their children will come back from college completely different. (Namely, radical feminist, heavy metal, spiritual hippie types.) Parents need not fear, though, because there is a way to continue to influence your kids' values. All you have to do is sign up for (and pay for) the workshop!
Do you think there's some value in reinforcing an adolescent's beliefs, or should young adults be encouraged to think for themselves?
Betty Jackson
3.1 Phillip Lim
J by Jasper Conran
So, an eco-nazi becomes pregnant. Really? Last time I knew, eco-nazis were so against having children due to world overpopulation.
1Well that's the dumbest thing I've seen in a long time.
2Gods, I can really identify with this.
When I went to college my belief system changed radically. Out from my parents umbrella, I developed my own way of looking at the world. I went from a Republican, Bush voting, anti-abortionist, anti-gay rights extremist to a Noam Chomsky quoting, Kucinich voting liberal.
I also haven't talked to my parents in three years. They couldn't handle a child that made their own decisions and didn't believe the way they did. They are convinced I am "going to hell," even though I am still a Christian.
This is just fear mongering on behalf of Christianity. It's a bullying, coercion tactic for conservatism.
Bri
3The whole point of raising your children well is that they grow up and make their own decisions. You can't keep them under your wing forever.
4Um wow to the vid.
Bri, we should be friends!
5ewww. Things like this make me physically ill.
I think part of what marks our move into adulthood is the re-evaluation of adolescent beliefs forcefed to us all our lives. And why is being feminist a bad thing? Its always good to be pro-self.
Religious sh*t like this makes me so angry!
6They couldn't get any better actors to promote their "workshop"?
7this is really funny, because not everyone who goes off to college becomes uber liberal tree hugging peta joining vegetarians--not to mention god hating... i used to be extremely liberal in high school, and since joining college and being free for three years, i've become more liberal in some aspects and more conservative in others. my parents gave me that choice and i'm greatful for it. forcing anything down your children's throats won't do them any good. how can you believe in something you can't defend?
8Yeah...I second MeiGaku on this. College DOES NOT ALWAYS equal more liberal/"unChristian" ways of thinking. I know plenty of people who learned to think for themselves - changed their beliefs [many went from ultra-liberal to moderate or even moderately conservative], changed their religions [of my freshman community class, 6 out of 16 converted to Catholicism, one went from being atheist to a theist - not a Christian theist, but a theist nonetheless, I know people who converted from Christianity to Buddhism, Pagan to Christian, etc.] - changed everything.
This is a totally skewed view of Christians in general. The idea is to raise children in the church/with God so that they learn how to live in the world WITH their faith. After they get to the point where parents aren't responsible for them anymore, then it's the child's choice whether to continue that path. Some fall away from the faith and come back [without FORCING them!], some fall away permanently, some come to it. Each person has an individual faith walk, in that each person deals with faith/religion in their own way. The parents can't control ANY of that.
Making your kid go to a workshop about what NOT to do in college as a Christian just makes those things even more enticing - and many times, what's being taught isn't even true. If you're going to teach Truth, teach the ACTUAL Truth!
9is "kim" spencer form south of nowhere?
10LOL, I hope my kids go off to college some day and are thoughtful enough to think about what they believe in and how they live their lives. I will admit, I went to college and got significantly more liberal. However, I was also starting with a dad who thinks that women getting the right to vote caused the great depression and that the human rights movements of the 60s and 70s destabilized society. (Holidays are awesome!) I can't imagine what it would have been like if my parents were super religious on top of that.
11I find it interesting that in this video, the girl never says anything about not believing in God any more.
12What do environmental concerns have to do with that?
They made it sound like her going off to college was like dying ...
13this "thing" makes it seem as though being liberal and christian are two contradictory terms.
14this as almost as bad as the "burn the books" and "don't send your kids to college" anti-intellectualism commentary at a republican tea party. some people just can't stand it that when someone is educated and exposed to the world and all its possiblities it's practically impossible for them to stay the same little ignoramus you raised to be.
15i meant** it's practically impossible for them to stay the same little ignoramus you raised them to be.
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