[By Merlin Lessler]<\/p>\n
In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom\u2019s Cabin in a damp New England kitchen while also attending to her six children. The book caused the greatest stir in American literature since Thomas Paine\u2019s *Common Sense*, selling 300,000 copies in its first year. It received an even bigger reaction in Europe, causing over half a million women in England to sign an anti-slavery petition. She attended crowded receptions, first in England and then with an extended stay in France. <\/p>\n
She particularly loved sitting beneath the trees in the Garden of the Tuileries in Paris, watching families come to spend the day while legions of boys and girls were frolicking, racing, playing ball, etc., without making a hideous racket. Unlike what she experienced in America. (*)<\/p>\n
Now to my point, if I could, I\u2019d say to Harriet, \u201cNothing much has changed in America; it has gotten even worse. You can\u2019t go to a beach or public park without loud yelps and screams filling the air. (Now, accompanied by barking dogs.) Just the other night we were having dinner on an outdoor patio at a restaurant. Two kids were running around, fighting, yelling, and screaming. Where were the parents? Inside, sitting at the bar, totally oblivious.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve experienced noisy kids running in a disturbing and noisy way for decades. Always asking myself, \u201cWhy don\u2019t the parents do anything about it?\u201d I know enough not to scold a kid myself. I don\u2019t want to climb out on that limb. I\u2019d end up with a black eye or being escorted away by a police officer, and be labeled an \u201cOld Foggie.\u201d My deepest sympathy goes to the teachers who deal with this modern-day version of undisciplined offspring. <\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t always as bad as it is today. It\u2019s been a gradual change over time. When I grew up, the whole village (or neighborhood) not only helped raise us; they disciplined us as well. Many times I was scolded by a stranger or felt the vice-like grip of a little old lady on my earlobe. The most effective of all was being told, \u201cYoung man, if you don’t behave, I’m going to tell your mother!\u201d That would do it. You didn’t want to hear your mother say, \u201cWait until your father gets home!\u201d<\/p>\n
In my case, I didn\u2019t have to wait; my mother handled it right then. A slap on the back of the head, a switch to the legs, followed by being sent to my room. No TVs in kids\u2019 rooms; no cell phones or electronic devices. Hearing a parent say, \u201cGo to your room,\u201d was the worst punishment of all for kids who wanted nothing more than to be outside.<\/p>\n
(*) The Harriet Beecher Stowe information came from \u201cHistory Matters\u201d quoting David McCullough from an essay called \u201cThe Unexpected Mrs. Stowe.<\/p>\n