I wonder what percentage of the nation’s schools teach this sort of philosophy:
One common theme that has run through the supportive messages deals with the teaching of passivity in our government schools. These listeners’ memories of their government school days mirror my own. If you were attacked by a bully on the playground, and you retaliated, the school officials would try to figure out who was the aggressor and who was merely acting in self defense. If the aggressor could be clearly identified he (or she) would be disciplined, while the person acting in self defense would not.
Today things are much different. Several listeners and Nuze readers told me that in today’s government school environment both the aggressor and the person acting in self defense. One upset father called the show yesterday to tell me that his son had received specific instructions from his teachers that if another student assaults him is is to do absolutely nothing. He is to get away from that student and report the incident to his teacher. If he so much as lands one blow in self defense he will be punished just the same as the bully who started it.
Are we really teaching our children that the use of violence to protect one’s self from an assault is not only undesirable, but punishable?
Boortz seems to be on the same mental page as I am on this issue. The loss of 32 human beings is certainly a tragedy, but the loss of the will to exist by our society is an even bigger one. We still do not have all the details of the Virginia Tech massacre, but we do have preliminary indications that none of the victims resisted in any way, other than to try and blockade doors.
Societally speaking, the values and memes we instill in our children from birth will follow them throughout a lifetime. If all they know how to do when danger appears is run, then they only have half the options that we should be teaching them.