I just returned from Michigan where my 13 yr old son got his first kill with a rifle. He took out an exotic ram with one perfectly placed shot with my Marlin .35 after his crossbow jammed. Big Jim and Paul were wonderful hosts at the Nugent ranch, I'll be going back but next time to hunt with Ted or perhaps get a buffalo.
I believe children in America are missing a right of passage during their transformation from childhood to adulthood, which hunting has historically provided. Less people are hunting and more are becoming couch potatoes, which creates a disconnect to the earth and nature and leaves our kids hanging in limbo. Anti-hunting activists have this all backwards, because they don't hunt they don't understand that hunters purposefully inject ourselves into the balance of nature.
No wonder kids these days are in a world of confusion, with misinformation and conflicting info all around, plus no ritual or right of passage that tells them "Yes you have accomplished this and yes you are now considered a respected adult". Does this have to be hunting or killing? No, but it certainly works for some. It could also be confirmation in church, going through an Indian sweat lodge ceremony, or similar ordeal. Instead our children are floundering between the two phases in life, left untended could help warp them to do bizarre things like Columbine, get pregnant, etc, etc.
Hunting is normal, hunting is natural, hunting is historically the only way we survived, and I personally feel that it is an excellent path through which personal growth can be acheived. The old saying, "Take your children hunting so you won't be hunting your children" is true. I have seen remarkable changes in my boy since I've started taking him hunting. He is growing up in a mature and healthy way, and if more parents took there kids hunting this world would be a better place!
- Dr. Ken Curtis
No comments:
Post a Comment