Dobson's legacy?

by Susan Greene
Denver Post
February 28, 2010

James Dobson has given new meaning to the term bully pulpit.

On the occasion of his exit from Focus on the Family, let it be noted that the child psychologist built an evangelical empire on families' vulnerabilities. He launched his career urging parents to keep their kids in line by hitting them.

Published in 1970 as a challenge to the liberal child-rearing techniques popularized by Benjamin Spock, Dobson's first book, "Dare to Discipline," advocates forcefully combating rebelliousness. To illustrate his point about asserting his God-given authority over his family, he tells the story of disciplining his miniature dachshund, Sigmund Freud, with a belt. He encourages not only spanking kids, but also leaving belts around the house to remind them of the consequences of defiance.

"Corporal punishment, when used lovingly and properly, is beneficial to a child because it is in harmony with nature itself," a Focus on the Family website advised.

There are debates to be had over ways to discipline children. "Spare the rod, spoil the child," goes the biblical saying that Dobson has exploited in presenting a Christian approach to raising kids.

Every parent has yelled too loud or squeezed too hard. Every mom and dad knows the temptation to haul off in rage.

That impulse may be natural. But acting on it plays on our weaknesses. And celebrating it — as Dobson has, albeit lovingly and in harmony with nature — borders on sick.

"It's abuse in the name of God," says Denver clinical social worker Mary Ervolina.

"We're civilized and we try to control our natural impulses. That's what sets us apart from the apes," adds psychologist Kate McGoldrick. "Coercive violence isn't the method to have a lasting relationship with your kid. Connection and boundaries aren't mutually exclusive."

Dobson founded Focus on the Family in 1977. He made a name for the nonprofit and for himself by providing advice on marriage and parenting. He avoided partisan politics until, he said, he was inspired by a 2003 court decision removing the Ten Commandments from an Alabama courthouse.

He since has thrust himself into the debate over whether to eliminate the use of filibusters to block judicial nominees in the U.S. Senate. He objected to SpongeBob SquarePants as a symbol of a hidden homosexual agenda. And he made headlines for comparing embryonic stem-cell research with Nazi experiments.

His fear-mongering reached new heights in 2008 when, inspired apparently by a Twitter from God, he warned that an Obama presidency would result in catastrophes ranging from "terrorist attacks across America" to the end of Boy Scouts and talk radio.

He delivered his last Focus on the Family broadcast Friday when he officially left the group, citing its need for new leadership. . . .

Focus' outspoken founder had a vast and loyal following. . . . Still, I hate to think about all the kids who've been smacked around because the good doctor gave their parents permission to do so.

Susan Greene writes for the Denver Post. You can read the entirety of her column here.
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Another Jezebel: Read about the invectives hurled at Susan Greene after this column was published. Whatever you may think of the belt-based, Bible-rationalized sort of corporal punishment promoted by Dobson, you've still got to wonder how so many self-described "Christians" can hurl so much hateful name-calling and vitriol. It's something I wonder about all the time since I myself have been called a "Jezebel" a bit too often.