Bullies are not born, they are made. They learn from an early age that its OK to push smaller or more timid kids to get their way or hurt others.
I think we should consider mandating classes in courtesy, manners and respect at the earliest ages possible. Two to three years old is not too young to help prepare children for a future life in a civil society.
Along with what a person likes to eat, a childs attitude toward life is already engaged by the age of 5.
If teachers of kindergarten and preschool were given the tools to teach manners and courtesy, think how this would prepare children for their futures. By teaching empathy they would learn that different cultures have different manners, but that none of them approve of bad manners or disrespect.
Terrorist organizations know all too well that a person who is isolated is an easy target for indoctrination. Teaching manners reinforces the importance of all people, and makes each individual feel a part of a larger community.
America became preoccupied with wealth and power as we struggled with incessant wars and political dramas, and by the 1980s Americans were obsessed with money and power at all cost, and respect was the first virtue to be pruned from that thorny infatuation. Our culture began to look down on courtesy as a sign of weakness. As technology helped parents have an easier life, they also felt that raising a child was a formula, something that didnt require critical thinking. As a result, we have at least two generations that have had babies, who have now had their own babies, with little or no education in many of the fundamental skills that created our great society in the first place.
We must start over, by teaching children that all other persons are just as important as they are, and deserving of honor and respect. The best way is to start teaching love at a very early age, and to keep it going through high school and beyond.
