A boy in Caro, Michigan brought cupcakes to school. He had adorned them with those plastic green WWII soldiers that are popular amongst boys of his age. The school initially decided to call the mother of the boy (she had baked the cupcakes) and tell her that they would not serve the treat. She informed them (rather colorfully) that they should just remove the toys and serve the cupcakes anyway. This is what the school finally did sending the toys back home with the child in a bag.
Afterward, the principal of the school released a press statement in which she (probably inadvertently) put the soldiers who fought in WWII in the same class as murderous psychopaths. She also stated that in a Democracy, we have to respect the opposition’s point of view and because she did, she decided it was inappropriate to allow the toys.
So if we go by her example, any religious adornments should not be allowed. Necklaces with the Star of David or crosses or any other religious icon should not be allowed in the school because there are people of other faiths and people of no faith attending the school. Nobody should be allowed to wear clothes in the school because, chances are, there is a student whose family practices nudism. Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmatic (the three “R’s) should not be taught because there are children who cannot learn these things and it is insensitive to those children to allow others to be smarter than they.
There is a fundamental flaw with the principal’s statement. There is NO opposition. If you are pro-gun rights, the “opposition” is those who are anti-gun rights. If you are anti-gun rights, the “opposition” is anyone who is pro-gun rights. So, by using the concept of respecting the “opposition” this principal has stated to the children that there is only one value to support and the other value is one that should not be supported. She took away the children’s choice. This is the same thing a rapist does to his/her victim: takes away their choice. Yes, I am flat out stating that what she did was as wrong as any rapists behavior.
In my opinion, what the principal should have done is taken the opportunity to use the situation as an educational tool. She could have explained to the children what the soldiers represented. She could have used the opportunity to educate the children on how guns are used properly and how guns are used improperly. These are facts that are appropriate for educators to expose the children to. By removing the toys, the principal censored the children’s education and instilled a negative emotional response to guns. She, again, took away their choices. She raped their minds.
This is, of course, what the anti-gun rights advocates want. But in doing so, the principal violated her own statement by neglecting the views of the “opposition”, in this case, the pro-gun rights advocates. Mind rape!
She cited the insensitivity to the victims of Sandy Hook and other murders. Is this appropriate? Should we shield our children from the realities of life? The fact of the matter is, life is not fair and very often bad things happen to good people. This is not something from which we should shield our children. It is something which they should learn from an early age.
By teaching our children about these things, we do not desensitize them to the results of the actions of a few individuals. Rather, we teach them the realities of life so they are better prepared to deal with things like what happened at Sandy Hook. They are also better prepared to deal with other, more mundane, aspects of life like rejection, loss, failure and other things that are difficult. When we shield our children from these things, they are less able to deal with them and more likely to become one of those who commit the atrocities we hear about in the news.
The principal of this school, unfortunately, did more harm to her charges than good. She taught them that it is appropriate to respect only one point of view rather than multiple points of view. She shielded them from one of life’s realities making those children a little less able to cope. She taught them that truth only comes from an authority figure. She taught them that it is okay to censor some people’s views. She taught them that it is okay to take away people’s choices.
These are not the values I want America’s children to have when they become responsible for this nation. I want our children to respect all people’s opinions and views. They don’t have to agree with those opinions or views but they need to respect them. I want them to be well adjusted and understand that life is not fair, perfect or easy. I want them to understand that it is okay disagree with anyone even if that person is perceived as an authority figure. I want them to understand that Freedom of Speech is one of the most precious of human Rights and should be practiced by anyone and everyone. I want them to understand that opposition is healthy and opens the door for communication and debate.
These are fundamental values that we seem to have forgotten or have decided are no longer appropriate for the future generations who will be responsible for this country. When Bill Clinton was elected President, a radio announcer stated that a new generation has taken over the country. I remember thinking to myself, “He’s right. I am part of that new generation. Am I ready to be responsible for this country?” By this point, though I didn’t realize it at the time, I was already acting responsible for the country. I had served a tour in the Navy and I had served in Desert Shield/Desert Storm as a reservist. But, I still had my doubts about my ability to understand what was going on in the nation and the complexities of the issues my generation is facing. But, I was also young and inexperienced being only in my early twenties. We need to do what we can to help eliminate that uncertainty in our future genrations.
Raping the minds of our children will inevitably lead to further acts of mass murder in the future. More and more children will be confused by what they have been taught in school not matching up with life’s experiences. Life will be teaching them one thing and their teachers will be teaching them that their experiences are not real. The confusion this brings will cause increasing numbers of mentally ill people who cannot cope with the contradictory nature of their lives.
The mind rape of our children must stop. Teachers need to return to teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. It is not the place of the public or private school systems to teach our children moral values. It is the responsibility of the parents to teach these things to their children. If a parent wants to raise their children with a socialist mindset they will raise them as liberals, which is their right. If a parent wants to raise their children to resist change and remain mired in the past they will raise their children with a conservative mindset, which is their right. If a parent wants to raise their children to think for themselves and come to their own conclusions, they will raise their children as moderates, which is their right.
As Americans, we need to stop the attempts by both the left and right to continue raping our children’s minds. We need to put a stop to the eternal war for our children’s minds. My child’s mind belongs to ME and her MOTHER until the day she turns 18. Until then, the left and the right need to keep their hands off my child’s mind. They need to keep out of ALL of our children’s minds publicly.
Afterward, the principal of the school released a press statement in which she (probably inadvertently) put the soldiers who fought in WWII in the same class as murderous psychopaths. She also stated that in a Democracy, we have to respect the opposition’s point of view and because she did, she decided it was inappropriate to allow the toys.
So if we go by her example, any religious adornments should not be allowed. Necklaces with the Star of David or crosses or any other religious icon should not be allowed in the school because there are people of other faiths and people of no faith attending the school. Nobody should be allowed to wear clothes in the school because, chances are, there is a student whose family practices nudism. Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmatic (the three “R’s) should not be taught because there are children who cannot learn these things and it is insensitive to those children to allow others to be smarter than they.
There is a fundamental flaw with the principal’s statement. There is NO opposition. If you are pro-gun rights, the “opposition” is those who are anti-gun rights. If you are anti-gun rights, the “opposition” is anyone who is pro-gun rights. So, by using the concept of respecting the “opposition” this principal has stated to the children that there is only one value to support and the other value is one that should not be supported. She took away the children’s choice. This is the same thing a rapist does to his/her victim: takes away their choice. Yes, I am flat out stating that what she did was as wrong as any rapists behavior.
In my opinion, what the principal should have done is taken the opportunity to use the situation as an educational tool. She could have explained to the children what the soldiers represented. She could have used the opportunity to educate the children on how guns are used properly and how guns are used improperly. These are facts that are appropriate for educators to expose the children to. By removing the toys, the principal censored the children’s education and instilled a negative emotional response to guns. She, again, took away their choices. She raped their minds.
This is, of course, what the anti-gun rights advocates want. But in doing so, the principal violated her own statement by neglecting the views of the “opposition”, in this case, the pro-gun rights advocates. Mind rape!
She cited the insensitivity to the victims of Sandy Hook and other murders. Is this appropriate? Should we shield our children from the realities of life? The fact of the matter is, life is not fair and very often bad things happen to good people. This is not something from which we should shield our children. It is something which they should learn from an early age.
By teaching our children about these things, we do not desensitize them to the results of the actions of a few individuals. Rather, we teach them the realities of life so they are better prepared to deal with things like what happened at Sandy Hook. They are also better prepared to deal with other, more mundane, aspects of life like rejection, loss, failure and other things that are difficult. When we shield our children from these things, they are less able to deal with them and more likely to become one of those who commit the atrocities we hear about in the news.
The principal of this school, unfortunately, did more harm to her charges than good. She taught them that it is appropriate to respect only one point of view rather than multiple points of view. She shielded them from one of life’s realities making those children a little less able to cope. She taught them that truth only comes from an authority figure. She taught them that it is okay to censor some people’s views. She taught them that it is okay to take away people’s choices.
These are not the values I want America’s children to have when they become responsible for this nation. I want our children to respect all people’s opinions and views. They don’t have to agree with those opinions or views but they need to respect them. I want them to be well adjusted and understand that life is not fair, perfect or easy. I want them to understand that it is okay disagree with anyone even if that person is perceived as an authority figure. I want them to understand that Freedom of Speech is one of the most precious of human Rights and should be practiced by anyone and everyone. I want them to understand that opposition is healthy and opens the door for communication and debate.
These are fundamental values that we seem to have forgotten or have decided are no longer appropriate for the future generations who will be responsible for this country. When Bill Clinton was elected President, a radio announcer stated that a new generation has taken over the country. I remember thinking to myself, “He’s right. I am part of that new generation. Am I ready to be responsible for this country?” By this point, though I didn’t realize it at the time, I was already acting responsible for the country. I had served a tour in the Navy and I had served in Desert Shield/Desert Storm as a reservist. But, I still had my doubts about my ability to understand what was going on in the nation and the complexities of the issues my generation is facing. But, I was also young and inexperienced being only in my early twenties. We need to do what we can to help eliminate that uncertainty in our future genrations.
Raping the minds of our children will inevitably lead to further acts of mass murder in the future. More and more children will be confused by what they have been taught in school not matching up with life’s experiences. Life will be teaching them one thing and their teachers will be teaching them that their experiences are not real. The confusion this brings will cause increasing numbers of mentally ill people who cannot cope with the contradictory nature of their lives.
The mind rape of our children must stop. Teachers need to return to teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. It is not the place of the public or private school systems to teach our children moral values. It is the responsibility of the parents to teach these things to their children. If a parent wants to raise their children with a socialist mindset they will raise them as liberals, which is their right. If a parent wants to raise their children to resist change and remain mired in the past they will raise their children with a conservative mindset, which is their right. If a parent wants to raise their children to think for themselves and come to their own conclusions, they will raise their children as moderates, which is their right.
As Americans, we need to stop the attempts by both the left and right to continue raping our children’s minds. We need to put a stop to the eternal war for our children’s minds. My child’s mind belongs to ME and her MOTHER until the day she turns 18. Until then, the left and the right need to keep their hands off my child’s mind. They need to keep out of ALL of our children’s minds publicly.
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