When placed in a torrential downpour, chickens, dogs and worms were able to seek shelter but human babies were not. Based on similar experiments scientists concluded “human babies long thought by psychologists to be inquisitive and adaptable are actually extraordinarily stupid“. I am quoting this rather complimentary passage from the book Descartes’s baby to make a point.
Here is a scenario:
Get someone to do this cruel experiment on a kid (Sadly this is happening everyday all over the world under different names).
Put a painting of an old man with white beard on the wall. Keep telling the 3-4 years old kid to bow to the portrait every morning before breakfast and later on before going to school. At night ask the kid to say some kind of prayer while having that portrait in mind in order to save himself from nightmare, bad and evil. To enforce the belief make a small replica of the portrait, attach it to a necklace and give it to the child. Ask him to hold tight to it when he is feeling insecure and fearful.
What would you think the child would look like and act when he is an adult?!
During all those years before college keep warning him about people that would try to diminish his faith and question his belief. Tell him to ignore what other kids and teachers say in school because their soul is stolen by an evil spirit. They are in the dark and can not see the truth. Warn him that if he loses his faith he will lose the guidance and light and be submerged in eternal darkness and filth.
If one of those days kid comes back home to find the portrait fallen and broken, explain to him that the “spirit” “Visha” “sixma” or whatever you want to call it has suffered this damage for you. It’s for your salvation. Now you will be redeemed forever and be forgiven!!
Ofcourse chances are that the kid gets hit by a car a week or two later himself but I guess you can explain that away too!!!
Is this all sounds too familiar?!!! I can assure you out of 6 billion kids on this planet only a handful at one point in their life or another would call your bullshit and rebel against that nonsense. Rest of us would live with that myth till the last breath!!
