Bribe Quote by June Jordan
“Our children will not survive our habits of thinking, our failures of the spirit, our wreck of the universe into which we bring new life as blithely as we do. Mostly, our children will resemble our own misery and spite and anger, because we give them no choice about it. In the name of motherhood and fatherhood and education and good manners, we threaten and suffocate and bind and ensnare and bribe and trick children into wholesale emulation of our ways.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Women’s Movement, 1970s, June Jordan, 1970s
Our habits and failures shape the next generation, forcing them into our misery and anger.
In simple terms: Our actions trap children in our own negativity.
Key Takeaway
Break cycles of harmful conditioning.
Themes
parenting
generational trauma
social responsibility
Mood
concerned
reflective
Type
critical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- family upbringing
- education policy
- media influence
- community programs
Key Concepts
psychology
cultural critique
ethical duty
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we model healthier thinking for children?
- What structures perpetuate this cycle?
A Different Perspective
Changing deep-rooted habits is difficult and may meet resistance.
