Ignorance Breeds Ignorance

My happy image of the strong, intelligent America is slowly being shattered. Shattering is an interesting verb to slow down. Imagine, one big piece of glass slowly crack, and then slowly, one by one, pieces crawl towards the ground.

It began when I spent the first half of 2005 in England. Nothing helps you see your country better than leaving it. Now, I certainly do not agree with much in relation to W. Bush. But then there was this incident. There was a picture of Bush holding hands with a man from Saudi Arabia (I think?). The man had come from his country to Bush's ranch for a meeting or visit. To show respect to this man, Bush held his hand. Holding hands between men shows trust and respect in some countries. What did the American people do when this picture hit the papers? They made fun of Bush. Some called him gay. Others simply laughed at him. Why, someone please tell me why would we all laugh at Bush for holding a man's hand when we had done nothing but ridicule him for his inability to show respect towards other cultures. Bush has done a lot that deserves ridicule; his ability to speak in public alone has offered years of fodder. But this time he was stepping out of his comfort zone, taking a step in the right direction towards international diplomacy, and we, like a bunch of 5th graders, laughed at him and called him names. We were the laughing stock of the world. Not Bush. I was horrified and ashamed for all of my fellow Americans. And I was suddenly embarrassed to be out in public in a foreign country.

Recently, the health care reform issues boiled my blood. People sported signs reading, "leave my health care alone!". How selfish are the people in this nation? So because it is working for you we should let all the millions whom it's not working for suffer? They aren't even willing to look at possible options. They don't care what kind of reform it is, or what the reform entails. They just don't want anything to be different. And the lies. The length people went to to get their way. Death panels? Really? And because one draft of said reform isn't perfect, we should just give up and go home? We're Americans. We're supposed to fight. Fight for each other. Fight for what is right. Not cower behind our set ways. There is a solution, and I may not know what it is, but I do know that "leave my health care alone!" is not it.

But I think the thing that boils my blood the most right now is the petty, ignorant behavior I've seen in people who do not like President Obama. This is most evident in the recent uproar over Obama's scheduled speech to the youth of America on the 8th. Parents are refusing to let their children go to school. Schools are prohibiting their teachers from showing the speech in their classes. The reason is they feel that Obama wants to brainwash and indoctrinate the children of America. Many presidents have addressed the students in the past, telling them to work hard and stay in school. Obama will probably say the same. He will probably also tell them that they have the power to change their world, which is not a lie. But the parents are so blinded by their hate for Obama, they cannot bring themselves to let their children hear what will probably be a positive and encouraging message from the President. Instead of stepping up to the plate and telling their children how to formulate their own opinion, how to constructively disagree, these parents are teaching them to simply not accept other views. Never has there been such an uproar about a presidential speech aimed at the youth of America. Ironically, this is because now more than ever parents are trying to shield their children from the real world.

Did you know that America is one of the leading nations when it comes to banned/censored books? Thought that only happened in dictatorships, didn't you? But no, it happens right here in our schools all the time. We are not talking about censored for age appropriateness. What are we talking about? Here is an example. "Fox" is a picture book written by Australian author Margaret Wild. It is geared towards adolescent readers, not small school children. It is a story about two friends, Magpie and Dog (who are a magpie and a dog, respectively). The two have a mutually beneficial relationship because Dog cannot see well and Magpie cannot fly. Magpie rides on Dog's back directing him as Dog runs. One day Fox shows up. He tries to get Magpie to leave Dog and ride on Fox's back instead, saying that Fox can run faster and can show her what it's really like to fly. Magpie says that she will never leave Dog, for she is his eyes and he is her wings. On the third time Fox tempts Magpie, she gives in. After running very fast and very far, Fox drops Magpie in the middle of the desert. He laughs at her and as he runs away, says, "now you and Dog will know what it is like to be really alone". Magpie realizes what she's done to Dog and wants to give up, but she gets up anyway and begins the long journey home to Dog. Why is this book banned? Because of the allusion to an adulterous affair? Maybe the mild thoughts of suicide at the beginning of the book I didn't mention? No. It's because it doesn't have a happy ending. This book is banned from high schools because it doesn't end with a happily ever after.

Parents are sheltering their children. What is wrong with this? What could be so bad about a kid who has never read a book that didn't end happily? Or what about a child who has never seen the President of the United States speak? A lot. A hell of a lot is wrong with that. Sheltered children turn into closed-minded adults who cannot function in the face of different opinions or real turmoil. They cannot think for themselves. They accept whatever is handed to them as fact. They are, ironically, brainwashed. This is the reason racism has lasted for as long as it has in this country. What eleven year old boy can hate another child just because his skin is a different color? Children are not born with hate. It is handed to them by the ones they love and trust the most. Visit that child's house and I guarantee you the parental figure in that house feels the same way. It a scary proposition to ask a parent to let go of the control over their child. But by letting go of that control, we are doing what we should be doing as parents in the first place: teaching the children how to live in the real world, and how to make their world a better place.

We cannot program our children to be robots. We need to expose them to the world little by little as age allows, guiding them through the reality, teaching them how to cope, helping them sift through the noise to find their own voice. They cannot choose their life, their beliefs, their opinions if they do not know the options. Give them all of the options, and then guide them. Show them how to navigate this world instead of hiding from it. They, and this country, will be better for it.