Anti-War Indoctrination encounters obstacles at Allis

The Wisconsin State Journal reports that "A letter-writing campaign by third-graders at Allis Elementary School encouraging an end to the war in Iraq was canceled."

"Madison School Board policy prohibits teachers 'from exploiting the institutional privileges of their professional positions to promote candidates or parties and activities.' [...] 'We don't want our staff ever using our students in a political activity, which this obviously was,'"

"Susan Abplanalp, assistant superintendent for elementary and secondary schools, said she does not believe the teachers involved viewed the assignment as a political activity."

Of course this impeaches the teachers' good sense and understanding. Not only are these people idealogues, willing to indoctrinate children, but they don't even realize that its objectionable.

Julie Fitzpatrick said, "We're really stunned by the reception. In hindsight, I guess we should have anticipated it. It's kind of sad when peace causes a furor."

This kind of statement is so idiotic, a mandatory review of her credentials to be in a classroom seems to be in order. Fitzpatrick just put herself on record opposing American independence, the Civil War and its natural consequence of freeing the slaves, the Second World War to end Fascism and its natural consequence of ending the Holocaust. Instead she stands in favor of the Nevillian quest for Peace in Our Time, or as it is also called, appeasment. Today, that includes some terribly illiberal forces.

One must think of the Niemöller quote in this context, about how foolish it is to watch one group after another capitulate to evil because you did nothing to aid them. Or likewise, Edmund Burke's, "All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

When one's opponants are merely creatures of self-interest, it can be possible to oppose them with arguments to their interest, or with actions short of violence which aim at their interest, but some opponants are motivated by ideology, not interest. Such opponants will martyr themselves to achieve their goals, either because they think that some diety will use their deaths or because without their victory life is simply not worth living. In such cases, talk, diplomacy, sanctions, and scrunched up faces only serve to give the enemies of freedom more time to hit you in the head with a large hammer.

Teaching kids to look the otherway in the face of injustice and evil. Nice work. Instead, lets apply pressure to those who might do good, albeit imperfectly, and who, being concerned with justice and legitimacy are succeptable to reason and argument. So the evil ones being unpersuadable, let us therefore persuade the flawed forces of good not to confront those who gas their own people, pay bounties to terrorists, train and supply terrorists, plan and attempt assasinations of politicians out of office just for personal spite or to intimidate free peoples, and pursue weapons of mass destruction. Let's not bother them. Good job educators.

This problem isn't limited to foriegn policy, as Kimberly Swygert observes (regularly, click Zero Tolerance). What do principals recommend when their charges are attacked by bullies or other aggressors? "He should curl up on the ground in a ball and hope someone else runs to get help." I wonder who is supposed to play the role of the mean American and intervene? Probabaly someone with much more power and authority than the participants themselves. Sounds like Imperialism to me.