I think we as adults are always striving for this state of mind of happiness, but because of the way society has evolved and we have developed certain expectations and levels to be met to become happy, for example 'If I can make myself look as much like this girl....I will be happy' or 'If I can manage to be rich as this person...I will be happy'. It's comparison mentality we have. Usually the happier people don't have this mentality, they can objectively compare and it bears now weight on feeling of 'worth' or I imagine they focus more on aspects of themselves which they think they have the upper hand on.
So, simply, we like the fact that children mostly seem happy and we want them to stay happy as much and as long as possible.
Taking the scenario of a child in a loving home; children as we see have a tendency to just love living, exploring their surroundings and at that stage there's so much to know, it feels like there's infinite knowledge of truths (i mean the lack subjectivity) and belief that one is capable of absolutely anything, there's no limits because the child is still developing, unlike we adults who feel like we've stopped our journeys or have slowed down, mainly because of the system society has developed; 'You must fall in line, you must find a job, be 'useful', pay your taxes, bills, be sociably 'normal', fight the evilness prevalent in the world' and so on. In that sense children's innocence is seen as a form of 'pure' human state, so naturally a desirable quality to try and maintain, however we know for survival in modern times one cannot leave their child like that but supply them with 'tools' and perhaps these tools are dangerous unless integrated to their child tactfully, timely.
The boundaries begin with safety (and maybe you could extend it to 'the physical reality' as THE first barrier, as we know our minds capable of so much more that the static of our immediate surroundings, then again for a child's mind probably not *note: do some research on child mental development*), you want them to be safe so you tell them not to touch the hot stove, for example, and there begins the list of rules that govern us. Children live life without any concept of these expectations until parents and their surroundings start putting the pressure on and pushing them into line of how a 'normal human' being should be in modern times.
Children have hope, they don't set the limits and boundaries and don't see societal expectations and barriers, the world is their oyster.
One of the greatest human quality - curiosity, progress happens with asking questions, and a child doesn't lack it hence they progress at an individual level.
True freedom of the mind before brainwashing is when you are a child, before society taints your mind (I do realise that this happens from the get go, but you're not exposed to a huge level relatively (although with internet etc these days its nearly impossible to monitor external exposure) ). I'm talking in a fairly ideal sense, so don't take me too literally.
You can take the saying 'The brightest stars burn the quickest' to apply here - the ones who are most curious and bold and breaking the rules.
Has anyone desired to be allowed to just live? Has you felt that unless you're 'useful' to the system that you don't deserve to live? Who has taken the monopoly on the reason for living - the government, the big corporations? It's taken a life of it's own.
Before civilisation was to do with sustaining yourself by growing your own food, making your own tools, sharing with your community and simple living. These times we're dependant on this thing called MONEY (reminds me of an interesting film called 'The Village'), perhaps money is the root of all evil, but perhaps money is also the necessary token for the system we have created. With globalisation especially the world realises there's so many people that you're just another statistic and then it becomes....
EDITED TO ADD: I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF GLOBALISATION...AND CHANGING PEOPLES MENTALITY/WORLDVIEW ETC -_- GODDAMN IT, SPENT TOO LONG ON THIS, YAWNS, MAYBE ANOTHER TIME.
Oh man! i lost track now... WAS A GOOD ROLL!!
It's also interesting how a 'numbers' game has become the driving force....Who can have the highest number in their account. Is mathematics more fundamental to our universe than we realise? Than just the tool for us the understand the worlds?
I love maths^.^ - it's sooo the universal language..ok, im losing it now.
The End.OK IM GOING TO ADJUST IT a bit AND REPOST
Topic: kids and innocence