IROQUOIS AMENDMENT
By Dr. Lon Jones, D.O.

A few weeks ago I presented some of the ideas of James Prescott, who believed that the origin of violence stems from the way infants are treated. As a physician, I am often called to treat the results of the violence that seems to permeate our society. Whenever this happens I am both appalled and angered by our apparent inability to do anything about it. I also deeply believe that here, as in every other aspect of medicine, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

This article is going to detour from medicine because further prevention of the origins of violence require social and political change. As I stated earlier in the article, Prescott's ideas make a great deal of sense to me. Early childhood development, the first two years of life, is the most critical period of learning that a person ever experiences. This is the period when views of the world are formed and when family attachments are made. The quality of these roots determines the capacity for violence in the individual. The cultural studies that Prescott refers to show that there is significantly less violence in cultures where children are more respected. People who call their children names such as "rug rats," "monsters," "urchins," while seeming diminutive, suggests another side. A bumper sticker I saw the other day is indicative. Instead of announcing CHILD ABOARD it stated BRAT IN TRUNK. Our society seems to be striving to duplicate Ayn Rand in her novels of a few decades ago which portrayed the image and the influence of powerful people. When thinking about her novels it is evident that there are no children in them. Children, and the intensive care that they demand while they are growing up, are not assets to one striving to excel in today's society. If the violence that permeates society is going to be dealt with and changed successfully, then it needs to start with the children. I have an idea to illustrate this point.

Prior to going to medical school and becoming a physician, I received a Masters degree in History with an emphasis on the ideas that were discussed in Colonial America at the time of the Revolutionary War and the writing of the Constitution. One of the most remarkable feats of the colonies was their unity and organization. Before the Revolutionary War there were thirteen separate and distinct colonies. The Iroquois League was responsible for expressing an idea of how these colonies could came together in unity against the English. The Iroquois League was a group of five Indian tribes in the Northeast that banded together and even had a constitution. In fact, much of our Constitution comes from the principles found in the Iroquois constitution. However, one of the things that was not included in the American Constitution was the role of the grandmothers who had the power to nominate the leaders and remove them from their office. In my opinion, this should be added to our Constitution and called the Iroquois Amendment.

There are several factors that make grandmothers ideal for this position. First of all, they are not climbing their own ladders of success. Knowing that they are on the tail end of life their focus of interest becomes a maternal one, for the future and their grandchildren. This society takes pride in the fact that it opens the doors of opportunity to women, yet more often than not those doors open to a man's world. Women are even in fighting troops in the military. Grandmothers are beyond this competition. Grandmothers would also lead to a nudging of our society toward the feminine by women functioning in a feminine role. Prescott shows that societies where the female is represented more equitably are less violent. Thirdly, it would lead to an honoring of our aged.

If an elected official knew that his 'grandmother' was watching his actions and was capable of removing him from office, I think there would be a much cleaner government. The Monica Lewinski scandal would not have occurred, or would have been handled in a manner that was not to the detriment of the persons, the office and the country. Investigative councils cost millions of dollars and usually wind up with unclear results. With 'grandmothers' in power, they wouldn't even be necessary.

Another benefit of 'grandmothers' would be to put some sorely needed emphasis on children. Children are the future to grandmothers, more than they are to others in our culture, who are more interested in making a living and pursuing their own goals.