{"id":93,"date":"2006-01-13T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-01-13T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/idolchatter\/2006\/01\/rites-of-passage-brutal-or-jus.html"},"modified":"2006-01-13T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-01-13T12:00:00","slug":"rites-of-passage-brutal-or-jus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2006\/01\/rites-of-passage-brutal-or-jus.html","title":{"rendered":"Rites of Passage: Brutal… or Just Shorter?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Saturday night at 9, the National Geographic Channel’s “Taboo<\/a>” series presents a look at “Rites of Passage” from around the world. Tune in, TiVo it, or have someone record it. Here’s why:<\/p>\n

This show visits different cultures from around the world\u2014and one in America\u2014showing footage of life transitions marked by more than just a Hallmark card. In the American Midwest, an Apache tribe maintains a grueling four-day ordeal to usher young girls into womanhood. In South Africa, boys become men by going through the traditional Xhosa initiation process which begins with a brutal circumcision.<\/p>\n

If your kids watch, it may give a new perspective on teen challenges such as \u201cmowing the lawn,\u201d \u201ccleaning up your room,\u201d \u201ckeeping the family car clean and fueled after you use it,\u201d and, oh yes, the big one: \u201cDo you homework and study well for tests.\u201d Not so bad after all, huh?<\/p>\n

And the brave watcher might stop and question whether these painful taboos are actually less painful\u2014in the long run\u2014than the long-term consequences of America\u2019s extended adolescence, with adults \u201cworking out their issues\u201d well into adulthood. As author and family expert Dr. Chapman Clark has said: Today’s adults want to look like kids, crank their high school “hits,” and passionately cheer on the team. Today’s adolescents see these adults aspiring to live like teenagers, and subsequently they see no reason to make the difficult journey to adulthood. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn contemporary society, graduate school is often a place to \u2018find oneself,\u2019\u201d Clark says \u201cNumerous studies attempt to understand the historically unheard of phenomenon of 30-somethings who have Ph.D.s living at home or waiting tables who have yet to ‘discover’ what they want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you watch, fight the temptation to just observe it like an animal kingdom show–as in \u201cwatch as Fred puts his hand in the mouth of the alligator.\u201d We need a good discussion<\/a> about how to help our kids make a clearer transition into adulthood, taking personal responsibility for everything they do. And maybe it\u2019s time some of us did the same.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saturday night at 9, the National Geographic Channel’s “Taboo” series presents a look at “Rites of Passage” from around the world. Tune in, TiVo it, or have someone record it. 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