Usually, it is the older folks on social media who wax poetic about drinking out of the garden hose, catching fireflies, disappearing on their bikes until the street lights came on, or a myriad of other things that kids did unsupervised back in the "good old days." Of course, times were a bit different back then, and the world was not such a diabolical place. Gangs and drugs were not ubiquitous quite the way they are today, and the prevalence of the internet and the concerted effort to sexualize children present challenges that Boomers could never have seen coming.
For example, over the summer, the drifters and panhandlers who occupy the shopping center near my house began taking breaks and napping/passing out in the nearby park strips, including the one across the street from my house. And he was two blocks from an elementary school. The vagrants were working their way into the neighborhood until the cold weather set in. Mine is a neighborhood where families go to parks, kids still ride their bikes up and down the streets, and there is no shortage of lemonade stands during the summer. The vagrants are no longer confined to Salt Lake City, where they colonize entire streets and get into one-way shouting matches with bus shelters.
Be that as it may, there is still a need to allow children to be children, unshackle them from electronics and supervision, and let them put their own minds to work. They deserve to have adventures, no matter how small. There are benefits to be had by letting kids shake off the rigors of regulated recreation. With that in mind, Utah State Sen. Lincoln Fillmore has introduced “Concurrent Resolution Encouraging Practices that Promote Child Independence.”
As Lenore Skenazy noted on Reason, the resolution is a follow-up to a 2018 Utah law, which is known as the "Free Range Kids Law." A resolution is not binding, but it underscores the need for teachers and caregivers to let kids have a chance to let their imaginations and creativity get a workout without supervision, unnecessary boundaries, or *gasp* adult intervention.
The resolution points out that when children are allowed to play unsupervised, they become more resilient and confident, and unsupervised play reduces anxiety. After all, why should a seven-year-old sweat the rules when they can make up their own? (Think "Calvinball.")
The senator also points out that self-directed kids become better learners and problem solvers. Children also develop better social skills and a sense of independence. The resolution also notes that "school culture becomes more supportive and inclusive when students may interact with each other and solve their own challenges without premature adult intervention."
As Fillmore told Reason, the purpose of the resolution is to "make childhood great again."
Such a concept, of course, would be considered heresy and anathema by the institutions of the Left that thrive on indoctrination and regurgitation to continue to enshrine themselves as the arbiters and high priests of knowledge and enlightenment. Free play could result in free minds.
Spend ten minutes on progressive social media, and you will see legions of people dedicated to the party line. It is one of the reasons so many rainbow flags and trans agendas began to crop up in schools. If Little Johnny showed the slightest interest in a toy tiara, that was all someone needed to change his pronouns and start him on puberty blockers. Never mind, if left to his own devices, Little Johnny may decide he likes the cowboy hat and cap gun better than the tiara and ballgown.
The resolution also states:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein, supports children who are of sufficient age and maturity to avoid harm or unreasonable risk of harm to engage in independent activities, including traveling to and from school, traveling to and from nearby commercial or recreational facilities, engaging in outdoor play, remaining at home unattended, or engaging in a similar independent activity.
Therein lies a mandate, not for children but for us. Making America Great Again means that people, not institutions, take responsibility for their communities. The police shrugged off my warning that vagrants were taking siestas on the streets since it was apparently too inconvenient for them to deal with the problem, even if kids and people walking to church on Sunday had to sidestep a snoozing transient on the sidewalk. It requires people to demand more of those who harvest their tax dollars and who ostensibly hold the public's trust. Children need freedom, and they also need adults to ensure they are safe. These are the Left's greatest fears: independent thinking and personal accountability.
But there is more: Rooms full of people, young and old, staring glassy-eyed and slack-jawed at those accursed little rectangles is an ill-portent for America. I played a few computer games before I was married, notably "The Battle for Middle Earth," "Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri," and "Starcraft." I tried the sample version of "World of Warcraft," but random people kept lurching out of the shadows to shiv me and steal my gold. It was kind of like the neighborhood where I grew up but with more interesting decor. After getting eaten by giant spiders for the third time, I decided I could not spend every evening that way.
Video games have spectacular video work, and the argument might be made that they can teach problem-solving skills, but the microchip and AI make for poor substitutes for the imagination. At least they should, despite what you may read from the tech sector. Yes, you can play "Hogwarts Legacy," but I suspect JK Rowling would be perfectly content with a kid finding a random stick and declaring, "The wand chooses the wizard!"
We used to understand this. Once upon a time, it was not "secret knowledge."
Finally, when given space to do their own thing, kids can be extraordinarily creative. The kid next door runs a snow-cone stand in the summer and a hot chocolate stand in the winter, drags a wagon full of soft drinks and water to the local rec center to sell at gatherings, and runs a shoe-cleaning business out of his parent's living room. He's in junior high and came up with all of those ideas on his own.
That is the kind of person and the kind of thinking that will make America great again.
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