Thursday, August 23, 2007

Kid Nation … Why Growing Up Is Hard - Guylan: Age 11

Kid Nation logo - Image Credit: CBS

Kid Nation … Why Growing Up Is Hard - Guylan: Age 11

In the early 1990’s, before Rudy Giuliani became the Mayor, radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh would always describe New York City as the place where every liberal dream was tried and had come true. Liberal thinking and governance had failed in allowing the city to be a nice place to live.

When people are asked … how did they arrive at looking at politics from a conservative viewpoint - they generally state … well, I grew up and I have responsibilities.

To read some of the quotes attributed to the "Kid" cast members of a new reality television show to be aired on CBS one begins to gain insight to why growing up and taking on responsibility might be a good thing.



Take the following example of an eleven year old kid from Upton, Massachusetts named Guylan. He is quoted as thinking that Fidel Castro is a world leader that should be admired. The specific reasons he sites are Fidel's accomplishments that include the overthrow of a government, the instillation of a socialist system, and his ability to remain in control against every effort put forward by the United States to remove him.

Are we really sure that Guylan wrote these opinions by himself? Honestly, we at MAXINE know a few eleven year old human beings and we DOUBT the validity of the following quotes taken from the CBS website set up to engage potential viewers. Take a read and let us know what you think. Who makes this stuff up?

Excerpted from “Kid Nation on CBS”, the website that holds the claim - “Check out the bios created & designed by the kids” -

Kid Nation on CBS
Premieres Wednesday, September 19, 8PM ET/PT


Guylan: Age 11
Upton, MA


What world leader do you admire?

Fidel Castro is a world leader that I admire for many reasons. Firstly, he led a revolution against a corrupt government ruled by an evil dictator named Fulgencio Batista. Then he went on to lead the country of Cuba by ousting their existing political system in order to instill a socialist government throughout the country. That meant out with the rich and corrupt and in with a more fair and balanced environment for his people. Although he has not always been fair nor kind in how he governed, he is like the energizer bunny, he just keeps going and going and going…! And no matter how many times we try to assassinate him, he just doesn't die. Although it is more difficult for his country to succeed due to the embargo banning trade with Cuba, he and his people have persevered and shown the USA that we can kick him and fight him all the way, but he just won't fall down.
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What makes a good leader?

What I think makes a good leader is a person who can wield power without becoming corrupt. I also think that a good leader should have the right balance of courage and common sense. A good leader must be patient and able to deal with people in a manner that gets a good response. Instead of screaming in their faces and calling them incompetent he/she should see what he/she can do to help them succeed. A good leader does not need to be recognized through his or her actions and successes but only though the successes of those he or she leads. That is how he or she knows they have done well.

Who have been some of the best U.S. presidents, and why?

Washington, because without him I don't think our country would be as strong as it is now. He led the war for independence and by being the first president, helped to found and was first to be elected to, a rarely used (at that time) kind of political system.
Thomas Jefferson, because he was another person who played a key role in the founding of our nation. He wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence and helped to start the train of ending slavery moving by including a paragraph against slavery. "He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life & liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither." Unfortunately it was not included in the final draft and he himself owned many slaves.

Who have been some of the worst U.S. presidents, and why?

One president I think was really bad is James Buchanan. He was pro-slavery and wanted to make Kansas a slave state. Luckily, the Free-Soil cause kept him from doing that. By the time he left office the civil war was bound to happen. George W. Bush is in my opinion one of the worst. No offence to Mr. Bush. Here are a couple reasons. One, he wants to start drilling for oil in Alaska. Why would he do that? Ummmmmm... we need oil? Well, that is true since we haven't done anything to change our dependence on it. What Mr. Bush could do to make oil not so much of a problem is to fund the development of alternative fuels such as solar, hydro and wind. However, I don't believe that we should use nuclear. It may be a fuel that doesn't contribute to global warming, but it has large problems of its own. Another thing, why are we in Iraq? Did they attack us? Maybe I've been watching the wrong news or reading the wrong websites but I don't think they attacked us.
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If you had the power to change one or two things about our country right now, what would it be?

Well, I would like to change the president to one who actually cares about global warming and will do something about it instead of just putting it aside until later... I would also increase funds to save the few remaining wild places and wild life parks and reserves in the hopes of being an example for other countries.

If you could put into place one law that pertains to kids in our country, what would it be?

If there were one law that I could put into place it would be for kids 9 and up to have the right to vote.

Why are some people rich and others poor?

People are rich or poor depending on life circumstances. This includes where people come from, what types of opportunity surround them and what decisions they make in life. Some bad decisions can cause different levels of poverty and sadness. An example of a bad decision would be drinking irresponsibly and having unprotected relations which can lead to unwanted children that create financial burdens. An example of decisions that may lead to wealth might be to complete your education by receiving a degree that will allow you to become a wealthy businessman with a wife and two kids and a very stable job that you enjoy doing.

Do you believe global warming is a fact or a myth?

If you think it is a fact, what would you do about it if you were in charge?

I believe it is a fact and If I were in charge I would cut emissions by slowly severing our ties to fossil fuels and exploring different sources of energy such as wind, hydro power, solar power, and last but not least definitely not nuclear power.
Reference Here>>

These “BIOS” are a scam … they have to be a scam … just take a look at the highlighted snippets and ask yourself, “Is this knowledge that a real eleven year old kid would actually write about (even though he might have had the questions in advance)?

Remember, Guylan is only eleven years old ... he wonders why we are in Iraq ... considering that he was only about five years old when the World Trade Towers were taken down with hijacked passenger jet airplanes on September 11, 2001, how could he ever be expected to connect the dots.

“Kid Nation” should be renamed “Lib Village”!









15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Or possibly Nerd Village.

When I was a kid, any kid who could go off on a rant about the Buchanan administration would be asking for a beat down.

Anonymous said...

What a load of crap.

I have an eleven year old who tests out a little above average in Minnesota. He can’t even come close to writing like Guylan.

It’s all a sham.

Anonymous said...

After watching the video, I would say it is heavily scripted just like Survivor.

The real thing would be more like Lord of the Flies.

Anonymous said...

Hippies and other Marxists have had kids. [*Shock*]

Not surprised that some Marxist would get this kid to memorize some lines and spout em out… maybe the producers, maybe the parents, maybe both. I am not a fan of “reality” tv (except for something like “Survivorman"). It isn’t “real” at all, of course.

Cult members do this to their kids. There ultimately is no differencem, substantially, between a totalitarian religious cult (totalitarian in structure if not in actual global or national ambitions)… and between an totalitarian political system, such as Marxists or Neo-Nazis.

They rely on total control of members to reinforce their consensual delusions… delusions which are highly divergent from reality and so “deep”. The big lies. Without total control, the big lies start to fissure and crack and it is hard for the leadership to continue to maintain control over the individual.

Hollywood has a long history of Marxists in there. They have since gravitated more towards journalism, but they have always been in there. Their movies are crap, at least. It is the Christian influenced movies which become the giants, the classics, because the Judeo-Christian morality system is the penultimate understanding of virtue. Without that understanding of virtue you have no heroes, no heroines, no adversaries, no adversity, no “heroic struggle”, and so no movie.

Christian themes run deep in our Western cultures most popular movies… even where people ordinarily may be skeptical such movies are underlyingly relying on basic Judeo-Christian concepts.

(I do not think, however, that any intelligent observer of popular culture has failed to see this, so I will not expound on specifics except suffice it to say to say the specifics are those movies, television shows, and other popular metaphoric explorations of “the heroic struggle” which the Western nations have an excellent grasp on… and pagan nations, at best, struggle with, but dimly do see and sense the heart of the heroic struggle and so “the story”.)

It is ironic, almost, that Communist based movies do not understand these things… because, like Islam, Communism is also a perverted heretical spin off from Judeo-Christian belief systems. It is, of course, an evil world where “the rich” succeed, and one should be merciful to “the poor” and seek out justice and equality… only, of course, Communists use these pretensions as but bait for the naive and those craving power and the appearance of righteousness...in reality, like Islam (who has similar righteous claims) they both are nothing more then just another totalitarianist cultic system.... whose understanding of virtue is extremely superficial at best.

Even where these people do more deeply understand virtue (for the purposes of more deeply appearing righteous) they are incapable of actually advocating it. Because virtue, true virtue, is the very system which is against them. It is the sunlight to their vampirism.

Anonymous said...

My favorite is " An example of decisions that may lead to wealth might be to
complete your education by receiving a degree that will allow you to
become a wealthy businessman with a wife and two kids and a very stable
job that you enjoy doing."

I've met several postgrads working in the service industry who would laugh/cry at that.

... notes from The EDJE said...

Jason:

That one IS rich ... just the sage observation, advice and direction I would expect from an eleven year old KOOL-AID drinker.

I screwed up in that I had only one "kid" after college. We know that all jobs that require a college education are very stable and enjoyable.

Again, the claim at the Kid Nation website is “Check out the bios created & designed by the kids” - Guylan's is a standout and has to take an award of some nature!

Anonymous said...

Hi, Guylan's dad here! Guylan is not brain washed and these answers are his and only his. He is homeschooled and has been well exposed to historical and current events. I am amazed that you all can only imagine this to be a conspiracy by CBS.

Some interesting facts you might like to know. I am veryy conservative and feel that Bush will be viewed as a good president in the future.

Why dont you guys request an interview with Guylan through CBS. You can contact their marketing team and request this interview. Guylan found your site and was not surprised at the accusations being made regarding his ability to comprehend complicated issues. That is why you guys would be the perfect candidates for whatching Kid Nation. You will all be surprised how smart and aware kids can be.

As far as the dork stating that Guylan must be a nerd deserving of a whooping, you were his favorite comment. Pure Ignorance!

... notes from The EDJE said...

This comment sounds as if one of the “AP’s” over at CBS is trying to drum up viewership.

Probably the associate producer that put together the (obvious media based/left leaning) questions used in the BIO’s for the “Kids” to answer.

If Guylan actually did write this stuff himself (as his father suggests) and he really IS home schooled ... who is helping him, what reading and study materials is he being fed, and where does he come up with the phrases and words used in the bio?

Get real, the kid is eleven years old and if this is how he really thinks at eleven with home schooling ... pragmatically, he could use a larger world view.

Hey Dad, take him out for a night of bowling!

Anonymous said...

"Why dont you guys request an interview with Guylan through
CBS."


Yeah, because there's nothing I'd rather do than hear the views, no
matter how enlightened, of an eleven-year-old.

Dad, pop your advanced kid back into the cooker for another 20-odd years
until his intellect is tempered with experience.

Anonymous said...

Dia said
you will be surprised that kids can have a great time at other activities than bowling which I am sure he tried. this kid computer games at age 5 where ancient civilizations, he could discuss ancient Egypt dynasties and what brought them down by age 6. he grew up around wild animals, and learn the respect for all living creatures,from age 1. he loves arts, is a natural as a stand up comedian, learn maths basis playing masterpieces( learn about painters this way too. he is a lovely, bright kid who does not need CBS or his parents to express opinions or coach his ideas for him. again I say, stop stomping your children capacities for learning let them express their opinions even if they are not yours.

... notes from The EDJE said...

Dear Dia:

Not one comment here is suggesting that the kids do not learn or form opinions that are other than their own.

Truth is, Guylan and the other kids could learn from constructive (and possible humorous) comments and challenges to the validity of their postings at the Kid Nation web portal.

The defensiveness of some of the people who are familiar with the Kid Nation experiment is beginning to leave me a little suspicious as to the truthfulness and the actual intentions of the overall production and those associated with it.

Further, ask any teacher, Kid Nation is being played out everyday in our urban public schools. The challenges there, however, are how to make the adults agree with their point of view and thinking.

At MAXINE, after reading some of the Bio information at Kid Nation, we believe the kids are winning … which isn’t all that good … who is there to challenge them, you know, give them a different point of view?

Anonymous said...

Honestly, I don't understand what's so hard to believe about these statements. When I was 11, I had some of these same ideas. Granted, that was the same year 9/11 happened, so that may have jumpstarted everything.

I have friends whom I've known for a few years that were Guylan's age when we met, and we just as questioning and intelligent as he is. My sisters are now eleven, and I'm sure if they were given some time beforehand, could compose something similar.

Those of you who call him a nerd or suggest he should "take up bowling" are just compensating for confused feelings of inadequacy due to his responses. While your kids sit at home bored watching reality television and playing football on suburban lawns, I can see where Guylan might really progress from these simple critiques he's made.

PS: If you weren't aware, most of the country hates George Bush, worries about class structure and capital, and is talking about climate change in one way or another. Kids are amazing when it comes to eavesdropping!

Anonymous said...

Hello this is guylan here i dont know if anyone is checking this particular thread anymore however if there is anyone still here i would be more than happy to explain any of my earlier comments. first off I would simply like to state that i am some one who has a Genius level IQ and i assure you i use every point of it, which is more than i can for the rest of you people who spend your time watching and judging people who you have never met in your lives. this may just be my "Misguided, socialist, marxist, fashist", or whatever other "ist" you people can try to label me, but i can sum up almost all of your posts with two very simple words that even mentaly chalenged people like yourselves can understand...BULL SHIT!!!! Now if anyone would like to have an intelegent conversation i will be checking this blog one a day for the next week and as i said before i will be willing to answer any of your questions. thank you for allowing me to post.

MAXINE said...

Guylan:

Your last comment here proves the adage the IQ does not necessarily translate to intelligence.

I can understand the desire to defend one's statements and position, but to be so filled with one's "ratings" as opposed to being able to articulate the defense of one's positions taken simply shows how self-absorbed you are. I am not interested in answers to the positions you have already stated.

You are old enough now to create your own blog and social media network and I wish you success in that ... but you really need to broaden out your perspective beyond how smart you THINK you are based upon IQ ratings!

Anonymous said...

I happen to be friends personally with Guylan, and we have no each other for several years. I met him when he was just turning 9, and while this comment might be late in coming, these replies to questions were entirely his.

I was told under some contract thing about his participation in the show, and that I was not allowed to give my comments on true or false statements about the show.

But its been three years, and you at Maxine, have it completely wrong. Guylan was raised a homeschooler, just as I was, but was always years ahead. He was spouting shit about fidel Castro since he was much younger than 11.

Perhaps the reason your children test above average but dont compare to Guylan in any way in intelligence, is because they were not raised in the same enviroment. He was raised a single child, allowed to believe what ever he desired religiously, and always treated as an adult by his parents. If your child isnt as 'bright' it might be due to the fact, you didnt treat them as an adult, or they simply werent given the same opportunities as he was, or their just not as bright as youd like to think.

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