This post is on chapter three of The Boy who was Raised as a Dog. This chapter was about the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Tx right before and during the siege. I found this chapter to be very interesting especially since I currently live in Waco. Before I read this chapter I hadn't realized that twenty-one children were actually released from the compound before the final siege that killed 80 people. Dr. Perry was called in to help coordinate the treatment and environment in which the released children were staying. Initially, there was a lot of disorganization and issues with many jurisdictions to try and extract information from the children about the compound to try to deescalate the standoff situation. All of the Branch Davidian children lived their life in the compound in a constant state of fear. David Koresh kept everyone in a constant state of fear and required everyone to essentially become subservient to him. He considered himself to be a prophet of God. Everyone in the compound had been taught to fear all outsiders and that these outsiders would kill them all. We all know how the final raid on the compound ended and unfortunately all of those children lost their parents in a very traumatic way. To initially try to help these children, Dr. Perry and those who worked with him had to first allow the children to become comfortable around them. These helpers soon realized that these children had never really been given any freedom and didn't even know how to make simple choices like what type of sandwich they would want for lunch. All of their decisions had been made by Koresh. These children had never really been able to develop any sense of self because they had never been able to have any freedom of choice to determine what they wanted. Dr. Perry felt that, though the outcome of the Branch Davidian siege was devastating, this experience provided a lot of insight into how to deal with traumatized children.
Our country has been founded on the idea of religious freedom. I however wonder if there should be limits on that freedom. Major issues like the Branch Davidian siege and the Jonestown massacre make me wonder if there is such thing as too much religious freedom. Can we allow these religious cults to exist when children are killed because of their parents beliefs. Twenty- three children died in the Branch Davidian siege and 276 children died in Jonestown. I absolutely believe that there should be religious freedom, but sometimes I wonder when so many children are killed because of the religious environment that they are in because of their parents. Can we allow major harm and possible death to our children in the name of religious freedom?
