Utah Schools Will Not Observe 9/11 Anniversary
(KUTV) SALT LAKE CITY - Several Utah schools have decided to let Sept. 11, 2007 pass without observing the sixth anniversary of the unprecedented terror attacks against the United States — over fear of re-kindling the haunting memories for those who vaguely remember them, or introducing them to children who weren’t born yet. This year, Sept. 11 falls on a Tuesday for the first since since the actual attacks. But some school administrators believe that commemorating the tragedy may inhibit the ability for students to make forward progress…. “We don’t want our kids thinking about that. We want them to move on,” said Beth Johnston, principal at East Layton Elementary in Davis County, whose oldest student was just 6 on Sept. 11, 2001. “It might be age-appropriate for older students to acknowledge and talk about it, but for our younger kids, we don’t want them to dwell on violence.”
I’m all for protecting children, but is this really about that…or are we simply trying to raise a generation of children who have never known an unpleasant thought or a painful memory? Yes, I understand that young children may lack the context or the ability to process memories in the way adults do. Does that mean we should be creating an atmosphere in which children aren’t reminded of one of the most terrible and horrific days in our nation’s history- a day that happened during their lifetime?
Yes, determining how best to address to address 9.11 with young children can be a challenge. I get that. That shouldn’t mean, however, that we ignore 9.11 altogether because we don’t want to upset our children. Or are we really looking to create a population of children who lack an understanding of their own history? How else do you think a nation of sheeple is created? How else do we end up with a nation of unthinking automatons who would rather react than think? How else do you think we end up with a nation of unquestioning, knee-jerk supporters of King George the Worst © ?
Then again, Utah is still the state where Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader © enjoys the highest approval ratings. You can understand, then, why educators in Utah don’t want to remind children of something that can only lead to the realization of how criminally inept The Worst President EVER © has been since 9.11. You know, kids start to thinking, and before you know it, they’re asking uncomfortable questions…and then things just go straight to Hell from there. No, far better that we teach them to accept authority unquestioningly…because if they begin asking questions, they just might discover that they don’t like the answers…and they may want to change things once they grow up. This is how the seeds of revolution are sown, no?
Yeah, just imagine the chaos that could result from thousands of children thinking critically. No, we couldn’t have that, could we?? How would Exxon or WalMart be able to prop up the price of their stock? No, we’re far better off when we do what we’re told to do, and think what we’re told to think…because REAL Americans don’t think or ask uncomfortable questions.
Uh…what were we talking about???
