Article September 13, 2004 Issue

FREE FROM THE PAST

By Scott Pendleton

Say Bully to most people, and they'll think first of a schoolyard Goliath who pushes around smaller kids. At this time of year, many young people are seriously concerned about it. According to the United States Department of Education, each day 160,000 US students stay home from school for fear of being bullied.

Young people also face a subtler form of bullying—mental bullying—through advertising that presents images of perfect bodies and beauty that are nearly impossible to attain in real life. And these images leap out at them from TV, magazines, movies—just about everywhere. In the US, where popular culture obsesses over youth and beauty, a survey by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons revealed that almost four times as many cosmetic procedures were performed in 2003 as six years earlier.

How can any of us—whatever our age—face down the bullies or bullying thoughts that have the potential to tyrannize us? I believe it's by gaining an unshakable conviction of who we really are—children of God. And then by acting accordingly.

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