| | Sarah,
See, I don't think "growing up" should mean losing one's soul or love of life, any more than "selfish" should imply ruthlessly harming other people for any small gain. These are both meanings that weren't inherent in the terms themselves before people who feared them or didn't understand them recast them into a negative light.
Accepting the bastardized definitions endorses the twisted ideas behind them. Embracing the terms as they ought to be by saying that one is "proud to be selfish" or "thrilled to be growing up" draws attention to the insidious concepts that are otherwise accepted without question.
What is welfare statism, after all, but the belief that adults shouldn't have to be responsible, but instead should be allowed to be careless ("carefree") and child-like their entire lives?
Sharon,
Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of the book with me. I'm fairly certain, though, that the story has baby Peter not being abandoned, but running away after the first time he hears that he will someday grow up, since he wants to remain a child and have fun forever.
I think I also remember Peter flying back to his old nursery window on occasion, to see that it was still left open and that his mother still waited for him to return. Finally, after many years, he came back one time and found the nursery window closed and a new baby in the crib that used to be his. I have trouble feeling much sympathy for Peter, though, on account of him playing such a cruel trick on his poor parents.
Michael,
I honestly don't know what the most prevalent cause of "not wanting to grow up" is. I hesitate to blame video games, since I've had so little contact with them myself, and since my second-hand observations are inconclusive. (Some of the adults I know who still play video games are anti-adulthood; others aren't.) Part of it might just be a reaction to the fact that "grown up" has a negative connotation.
Thanks for the compliment!
Robert,
I appreciate the feedback; I'll try to work on my conclusions.
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