A Brief History
This past week has been a doozy for controversial remarks by high-profile world leaders!
Digging Deeper
First, on Wednesday, February 4, 2015, Pope Francis said, “One time, I heard a father say, ‘At times I have to hit my children a bit, but never in the face so as not to humiliate them.’ That’s great. He had a sense of dignity. He should punish, do the right thing, and then move on.” This comment has been taken as an endorsement by the Head of the Catholic Church of parental spanking within reason. Most Americans seem to agree with his comment. Do you?
Then, on Thursday, February 5, 2015, American President Obama said, concerning the atrocities associated with the Islamic State, “Lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ.” Not surprisingly, historians the world over have greatly taken the validity of this remark to task. But do you agree with these scholars, or are they just adding to the list of ridiculous things said about the U.S. President?
Indeed, we are truly curious what our readers make of controversial remarks of the Pope and Obama earlier this month. After all, these men are world religious and political leaders with a tremendous influence on our lives.
Do you agree with the Pope that parents should spank misbehaving children? Do you spank your children and were you spanked growing up? If so, have you found this form of punishment to be effective? Or should this once traditional part of life no longer be practiced?
Also, what do you think about President Obama’s comments? Are members of the Islamic State in the twenty-first century comparable to Medieval Crusaders from nearly 1,000 years ago, or do you agree with the historians’ consensus that the context in which both groups operated are too different? For some more background information on the Crusades, please see this timeline. Finally, should we add any members of the Islamic State to our list of the most evil people in history. If so, which ones and why?
Please let us know what you think about Pope Francis and President Obama’s remarks in the comments! For further information, the best online resource about corporal punishment is, without any doubt, this one, and here is an interesting video comparing the Islamic State versus Crusaders:
Finally, as a bonus controversy from this past week, we have, not a comment, but an image! Jennifer Lawrence, whom you may recall from our series on women famous for being naked, has now sought people’s attention with her latest nude photographs, this time, however, by her choice. Question for students (and subscribers): Does posing nude after being outraged over leaks of nude photographs of her make her in any way hypocritical? Or do you find the latest photographs empowering in any way? Again, please voice your opinion in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Pritchett, Jamie. Lots of Love and a Spanking! Little Palm Press, 2005.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="9472 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=9472">24 Comments
Parents do have to discipline their kids but there is a right way of doing it and a wrong way of doing it.
Parents have to show there kids what is acceptable and what is not.. There is a fine line of disipline
Open mouth and insert foot… People definitely should think before opening their mouths! My personal beliefs on both of these subjects is exactly that… personal! — DAVID WARDLE
My mom used to beat the shit out of me and I stilled did what I wanted to do. It just made me sneakier and a better liar.
I think Obama comparing the islamic state to the crusades is like comparing apples to oranges.
Personally, I do not agree with spanking as a form of punishment. My five siblings and I were never spanked, but punished in other ways that seem better to me. And I find it ridiculous of President Obama to compare the happenings of ISIS to the crusades, they are so different.
I guess it would all depend on the child. Some children are spanked and then they decide that they never want to be spanked again or there are the other type that still do what they want and continue to be spanked. I personally was spanked and I feel that I have come out better. The fear is not what helped me to strive for success instead it was the fact that my parents loved me enough to try and scare me to doing the right thing. All in all, it depends on the child.
I was spanked as a child (I deserved it), and I didn’t turn out so bad I like to think. It is a form of punishment and also an act of being embarrassed. I think it is effective way of punishment.
I believe that corporal punishment should be a part of parenting but as a tool in the tool belt not as the only tool. What leaders in the world say does have consequences. I do not agree with President Obama in this incident. He should have spoken better and made a better case. I understand what he was trying to say but others in the world see things differently many times.
I was never disciplined like that until my teenage years and only did my mother begin to discipline me then because i thought I could do whatever i wanted. Kids need discipline, and spanking (to a point) is one way of doing it
Discipline should be done to a certain point. There is a thin line between punishing and beating a child.
Don’t agree with beating kids.. I use to be spanked and it never made me want to listen better only react worse.
I do agree with the Pope in this case. I think the world has become too censored in some ways. Now a days you could be put in jail for touching a kid and in our parents generation spanking was normal. I don’t think kids should be beat by any means but punishment needs to go to a certain extent.
Spanking your kids is okay in my mind. Obviously there is a line that can still be crossed but giving them a spanking when they act up is fine. Now, what ISIS is doing is crazy. It’s barbaric but I wouldn’t compare their actions to those of the crusades.
I don’t agree with spanking your kids, I was not spanked but instead sent to the corner , haha that surely taught me a lesson , its so boring stareing at a wall ! I do not agree with Obamas comments.
There is a fine line between beating and punishing, just as there is a fine line between savagely beating a criminal to within an inch of his life and acts of rehabilitation towards criminals. That some people don’t see this amazes me.
I do not agree with spanking. I think there are other ways to discipline that do not involve physical contact. As much as I think that it is each parent’s decision to make, I cannot say that I would ever do it myself. As for Obama, as much as everyone has their personal views on him, I honestly think he was making a harmless analogy. Whether or not it was 100% accurate historically speaking, the general idea that ISIS is taking what they want and eliminating everyone in their way is comparable to that moment in history. I do think, however, that the blatant terrorism that ISIS is involved in is generally different than that of the crusaders, simply because of the differences in context in this modern age. ISIS is in some ways more organized and intentional than the the Crusaders were, just because of modern technology. I do see Obama’s point in the analogy and I think that is all he wanted. I honestly think Jennifer Lawrence’s actions are her embracing the situation that occurred when her pictures were leaked. In this way she has control over the situation and maybe these pictures will overshadow the invasion of privacy that happened before.
Spabeing your children and child abuse are two different things and should be treated differently. As for Presidents Obama’s comments, I think he us wrong. You can say whatever you want about the crusades, the fact is that they ended and to this day jihad is still going on. It’s like one civilization evolved and the other is stuck in the past.
I grew up getting spanked so in my mind it is alright….it hurts but then 5 minutes later it doesn’t hurt and the lesson is learned. Adrian Peterson’s punishment techniques would be an example of the line being crossed but a little pain to learn a lesson does not hurt.
I do agree with Obama in this case as well…there is something about terror in that part of the reason that seems inevitable at times.
I agree in what the Pope was TRYING to say but I do not necessarily agree with the way he said it. I believe that it is okay to spank your kids, but just one time. This has to be done at the right time when they are so far out of line, that it is the only option. Spanking will strike fear into children but they will also learn as a result of it. This method of instruction however is unfavorable and can cause many complications as a result.
I agree with what the Pope was getting at. Parents have the right to discipline their children, and spanking does teach a lesson as long as it is not excessive or abusive.
I was only spanked as a kid if I had really screwed up and I think if done sparingly like that, it can be okay. Also, I think that while the circumstances may be different now, it is still important to remember that people have done some terrible things in Christs name as well.
I have no problem with President Obama pointing out the hypocrisy of the christian criticism of radical Islam. Yes, islamic terrorist attacks are terrible, but Christianity does not have a clean resume when it comes to violence either.