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The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truthSep 30 '01 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Tell them everything...leave nothing out. Tell them how we became lax and spoiled and how we forgot to value our lives and our freedoms. ~*~Preface~*~ I teach eighth graders in a poor rural school with a high minority population. I have two children who attend a rural school in an affluent rural township with a population of around 1000 "folks". I am white and female. I am Christian, saved by grace in the year 1986. I majored in history as well as English when I my husband put me through college while we raised our kids. I was a Girl Scout who somehow really believed the patriotic litany that was set before me; yet despite that, I have frequently been heard saying that I am a socialist at heart and our fore fathers are surely rolling in their graves at the travesty of what we've done to the legacy they left us. I truly believe that we are too free...or at least we were... and the decline of our morality and rise of the dockets in our legal system are proof of it. Personally, I have always known what it means to sacrifice for one's country; my father fought it Vietnam and came back a ruined man, my great uncle fought in WWII and didn't come back at all. I am old enough to remember the anti-war protests. I am old enough to remember the fights for civil rights and women's lib. ~*~A lesson in patriotism~*~ "My country, my country, may she ever be in the right, but my country - right or wrong." Commodore Stephen Decatur Like most schools my school has a character education program which mandates that I teach a character word for two minutes to every class every day all week. The list of words include respect, truthfulness, integrity, honor, and patriotism. I usually fulfill my obligations to character ed by assigning journal topics based on the word of the week. The one I have always dreaded is "Patriotism". It cuts me to the bone every year when I assign the topic, and the kids ask me to define it because they don't know what it is. They invariably say they don't really care one way or the other. They don't understand the value of the freedoms that they have because they have never known anything else. Therefore they cannot fathom the idea of actually fighting for those freedoms. After all, those freedoms were handed over to them on a silver platter. Someone on this site said we are "fat, spoiled Americans", and indeed we are... or at least our children are. I frequently prayed that God would divulge to them the lesson I was trying to teach. This was not what I had in mind. My students now have an inkling of what patriotism means, but what a price we have paid for that lesson. Patriotism is a fervent belief in one's country and a deep felt urge to defend that country at all cost. Patriotism is the act of honoring the symbols of one's country and pledging allegiance to it. Patriotism is the passionate love for one's country, its culture, and its citizens. My students are starting to get it now, but... ~*~ A lesson in truth ~*~ Our kids must be told the truth if this lesson is to be lasting. They must know the historical and political reasons behind these attacks. We must tell our kids that for a little while our country got a little too big for her britches and kind of stuck her nose where it didn't belong. Our country is also under attack because we stuck up for our friends in Israel and Kuwait. Our country is under attack because we shared some of our destructive "toys" to get back at an old, old nemesis...yep, the USSR. They need to know that the terrorists who perpetrated these acts on America did so out of fear and jealousy. They ...being most terrorist groups...do not like the fact that we are so free and that we try to enlighten other countries as to how they can be free. They do not like the fact that many of the women in their own repressed society have gotten wind of how free the women in America are and they would like to shut us up. They do not understand our culture or our beliefs...and human beings always fear what we do not understand. Our kids must be told of the Cold War, and how we totally reacted to communism in much the same way that these radicals have reacted toward our capitalistic democracy. Over simplified? Sure, but these are kids that we're talking to, and you have to make it simple for their ten minute attention spans. I mean, they are used to getting a commercial break every ten minutes. Our kids must be told exactly what happened on September 11th, 2001. They must know the horrific details. Don't worry you can't really horrify them...after all they do play Resident Evil 1, 2, and 3 on their Play Stations. They have to know that this act was conceived and carried out by a radical group who happens to subscribe to some twisted form of Islam. ~*~ A Lesson in Humanity ~*~ Which brings me to the topic I really wanted to discuss. Our kids must be educated in tolerance. Acceptance would be better, but tolerance must be the minimum. They must understand the culture from which these terrorists come. Islam is NOT a pagan religion. They do not worship a foreign god. They devoutly worship ( a lesson most Christians, including myself, could learn from them) the God of Abraham, the God of David, the God of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. They even believe that Jesus Christ lived. They don't believe that he was the messiah unfortunately, but rather, they believe that he was a Prophet of God much like their own Muhammed. Islam does not condone the murder of innocents. It does not condone war unless they themselves are under attack. The vast majority of Muslims condemn what the terrorists have done. The thousands of Muslim Americans who are now themselves being persecuted and terrorized by "real" Americans ( whatever the heck that may be) are heartbroken and angered by the attacks just like everyone else. Attacking Muslims everywhere for the terrible, despicable acts of a few radicals is like attacking all whites for what the KKK does or persecuting all blacks for what some black gang does. In fact, my initial analogy was to relate the way the Muslims in America are being treated to the way Japanese Americans were treated during WWII. Our kids must know that hatred is what caused this atrocity and hatred will never be the cure. They must know that while terrorist groups must and should be sought out and brought to justice or destroyed, "nuking" an entire nation is nothing more than terrorism on a larger scale. ~*~ What happened in my class on September 11th~*~ Since I don't have cable television in my classroom, I spent much of the day running back and forth to the library to get updates for my students. I kept them informed of what was happening, what was surmised, and what was know for fact. We talked about the end times as predicted in Revelations ( yes, I violated the sacred separation of church and state clause); we discussed the fundamental beliefs of Islam; we discussed the concept of war in the 21st century; and mostly we discussed how frightened they were that it wasn't over yet and their fear that the nuclear plant could be hit. They were greatly relieved when I reported that all flights were cancelled. We initially discussed our anger and desire to retaliate, but eventually came to the conclusion that that wouldn't solve anything; although we agreed on that day that it would have made us feel better...at least initially, until we discussed how frightened the school children in Afghanistan were going to be if they heard the U.S. declared war on them. ~*~ What happened in my home~*~ I hugged my kids fiercely. I have never been so glad to get home in my life. I watched the news for the rest of the day, trying to piece together everything that had happened while I was sequestered in my classroom. I discussed what would happen if we went to war. This was a big concern for my teen because many of her male friends are draft age. We talked about the future and how our world would change. Mainly, we prayed for the people in New York, D.C., and across the country. We talked alot about our freedoms and how much we have taken them for granted and how maybe we have too much freedom. We gave ourselves just enough rope... After all, many human beings aren't responsible enough or human enough to handle the right to bear arms or the right to speak freely...especially if it's reporting the whereabouts of the President.  |
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