It's about groups, the way we define them, the importance we give to them, the 'platitudes' we teach about them. When the platitudes involve exquisite sensitivity to certain ethno-religious groups, but a de rigeur badmouthing of our own groups, something different is going on.
I hate to be a traitor to my class, but the bad-mouthing of the NEA over their 9/11 site is an unfortunate example of group-think, in my opinion.
LindyBill may or may not be correct that the most egregious links were taken down, but I listened to Rush (my husband was driving - I listen to NPR or C-SPAN I drive - NPR drives my husband nuts) when he started beating the drums over the NEA site, and the following material is precisely what Rush objected to:
>>‘Blaming is especially difficult in
terrorist situations because someone is at fault. In this country, we still
believe that all people are innocent until solid, reliable evidence from our
legal authorities proves otherwise’ — which presumably means we should
wait till the trial and, given that what’s left of Osama is currently doing a
good impression of a few specks of Johnson’s Baby Powder, that’s likely
to be a long time coming.
Instead, the NEA thinks children should ‘explore the problems inherent in
assigning blame to populations or nations of people by looking at
contemporary examples of ethnic conflict, discrimination, and stereotyping
at home and abroad’. <<
What Rush is advocating is precisely what I object to -- making broad generalizations about Islam, or even radical Islamism, based on the actions of Al Qaeda.
There are very few Americans who genuinely understand radical Islamism well enough that I can stomach reading them. What is the point of trying to explain something you can't understand?
The facts speak for themselves. The men who committed terroristic acts on 9/11 were criminals with a political agenda. They were members of a radical Islamic group called Al Qaeda. The leader of Al Qaeda is a man named Osama bin Laden, who has been convicted in absentia of other crimes against the United States.
Bin Laden objects to the United States having military bases in Saudi Arabia for reasons he says are religious. His own country has rejected him and he lives in exile. Congress has authorized the use of military force against Al Qaeda and anyone assisting Al Qaeda and any country harboring Al Qaeda. We have killed many Al Qaeda members, imprisoned some, and are hunting the rest down. This is a joint international effort by many nations.
Stuff like that. Hard facts, things we know are true, things anybody can understand.
I would also teach the children by showing them photographs of the broad outpouring of support all over the world, that America is loved, and that people all over the world were sorry about what happened.
I would also teach the children that some people in our country decided that they hated all Muslims, that all Muslims were enemies of the United States, and these people even killed some people or tried to kill some people (even some Sikhs) and damaged Muslim property, and that's wrong. That's not what Americans do.
If they want to learn about radical Islamism, tell them it's a very complex issue and give them a good book written by a real expert on the subject. |
