The following things get my attention:

1) both are instruments of discipline used responsibly, and instruments of abuse used irresponsibly.

2) It's a straw man argument to judge the whole value of something based on the worst-case scenario. A rational appraisal of any activity fully considers all the good and all the bad caused by it.

3) I don't think the songwriter was advocating beating children; rather I think he was making an interesting comparison to an audience that values good ol' down home discipline, and wisdom learned by experience (sometimes the hard way)

4) A fool repeats his mistakes without learning from them
An average person learns from his mistakes.
An average person who learns from his mistakes gains wisdom
A wise man watches and learns from the mistakes of other.


5) For those who are capable of learning from their mistakes, it is better to gain wisdom from a small consequence administered by someone who loves you than to go through life without guidance, only to receive the full consequence of a bad decision administered by a world that doesn't give a rat's patutie if you live or die.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ey71h8ep047758h/AAC12jNM0Hz9Q8zsh5iDeqNHa?dl=0