After all these years , I now think my fears that the moral order was always in imminent danger of collapse were misplaced . My children and I have spent a great deal of time doing little else than wave it in front of each other 's noses : my lectures to them on truthfulness were more than balanced by their tirades against me on unfairness . But all the while , there was one thing we most needed even from the start , and certainly will need from here on out into the New Jerusalem : the ability to take our freedom seriously and act on it , to live not in fear of mistakes but in the knowledge that no mistake can hold a candle to the love that draws us home .

Question: Why did the speaker 's children go on tirades towards them against unfairness ?
Answer: They felt that the speaker 's parenting style was over the top and unfair to them as childrenThey were practicing for their high school debate club and were showing their parent what they had learnedThey were trying to distract the speaker so that their brother could sneak into the kitchen and steal cookiesThey were oppositional and defiant and would argue with anyone for any reason , this was no exception