John Whitehead's Commentary
Is American Listening?
How many killings on America's public school campuses will it take for us to see that there is something more than societal dysfunction taking place? How many more tragic outpourings of teenage angst before we realize that our young people are trying desperately to speak to us? Is America even listening?
The outbreak of school shootings that began in February 1997 when a 16-year-old Alaskan boy pulled out a shotgun and killed his principal and another student has forced school officials, public leaders and parents to search for ways to prevent further bloodshed. In their attempts to make the schools safer, students have been forced to deal with zero tolerance policies, heightened security, routine locker checks, guard dogs, metal detectors and numerous other invasions of their property and privacy. Despite the precautions, other student-led shooting sprees and bloodshed followed.
In struggling to understand the teenage mind--and find some motivation for the rash of school shootings of the past several years--public leaders have targeted everything from the negative influence of movies to music to violent video games. Now, the scapegoat seems to be bullying and peer pressure. While these are certainly valid factors, we're facing a crisis that goes much deeper, one that is neither educational, political nor cultural but spiritual.
Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings, put it best: "The real villain lies within our own hearts. Political posturing and restrictive legislation are not the answer. The young people of our nation hold the key. There is a spiritual awakening taking place that will not be squelched. We do not need more religion. We do not need more gaudy television evangelists spewing out verbal religious garbage. We do not need more million-dollar church buildings built while people with basic needs are being ignored. We do need a change of heart and a humble acknowledgment that this nation was founded on the principle of simple trust in God."
Our young people are part of a lost generation--raised in a world where life has little to no value, the almighty dollar takes precedence and values are taught by primetime sitcoms and Saturday morning cartoons. They are being raised by television and the Internet and nourished on fast food. They are seeking comfort wherever they can find it--in sex, drugs, music, each other. They are searching for hope and finding few answers to their questions about the meaning of life.
Our young people need guidance. They need help navigating the murky waters of adulthood and morality. They need to be educated about the difference between right and wrong, and these principles must be taught not only in our churches, synagogues and families but in our schools as well. If our educational institutions will not teach such essential concepts as "Thou shalt not kill" and the high value that should be placed on human life, then many of our young people will face the world with no values or respect for people. And with the onslaught of the hedonistic messages broadcast into young minds by way of television and the entertainment industry, it is little wonder that our high schoolers have virtually no moral compass.
For the past fifty years, we have been debating such issues as whether a child can offer a simple prayer over his or her school lunch or whether a few kids can meet in an empty classroom after school to talk about their religious beliefs. In the meantime, our school systems--where young people spend much of their waking hours--have become progressively secular. Moreover, what was once considered essential in education, the teaching of values, has become taboo. But, as some educators have recently noted, our educational system cannot wait until high school to begin teaching moral concepts and restraints.
First, we must open up this dialogue with our young people at home. Then we must echo these principles at school--starting at the elementary school level. And because many public school officials are woefully unprepared to teach such principles, educators will have to seek out people and groups with expertise and training in this important area. Finally, we must reexamine the way in which we lead our own lives and our nation--and the messages we're sending future generations about how we value life and each other.
Our children deserve a future. And they deserve a chance to learn and live under the moral principles that have undergirded our society since its inception. If our schools, families and religious institutions cannot provide this, then we can only expect more tragedies such as that in Santee, California. It is high time that we reorganize our priorities in this country and put children at the top of the list. Our young people not only need guidance--they need reassurance that they are relevant and worthwhile and have value. More than anything else, our young people need to know that we're listening.
WC: 828
The outbreak of school shootings that began in February 1997 when a 16-year-old Alaskan boy pulled out a shotgun and killed his principal and another student has forced school officials, public leaders and parents to search for ways to prevent further bloodshed. In their attempts to make the schools safer, students have been forced to deal with zero tolerance policies, heightened security, routine locker checks, guard dogs, metal detectors and numerous other invasions of their property and privacy. Despite the precautions, other student-led shooting sprees and bloodshed followed.
In struggling to understand the teenage mind--and find some motivation for the rash of school shootings of the past several years--public leaders have targeted everything from the negative influence of movies to music to violent video games. Now, the scapegoat seems to be bullying and peer pressure. While these are certainly valid factors, we're facing a crisis that goes much deeper, one that is neither educational, political nor cultural but spiritual.
Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings, put it best: "The real villain lies within our own hearts. Political posturing and restrictive legislation are not the answer. The young people of our nation hold the key. There is a spiritual awakening taking place that will not be squelched. We do not need more religion. We do not need more gaudy television evangelists spewing out verbal religious garbage. We do not need more million-dollar church buildings built while people with basic needs are being ignored. We do need a change of heart and a humble acknowledgment that this nation was founded on the principle of simple trust in God."
Our young people are part of a lost generation--raised in a world where life has little to no value, the almighty dollar takes precedence and values are taught by primetime sitcoms and Saturday morning cartoons. They are being raised by television and the Internet and nourished on fast food. They are seeking comfort wherever they can find it--in sex, drugs, music, each other. They are searching for hope and finding few answers to their questions about the meaning of life.
Our young people need guidance. They need help navigating the murky waters of adulthood and morality. They need to be educated about the difference between right and wrong, and these principles must be taught not only in our churches, synagogues and families but in our schools as well. If our educational institutions will not teach such essential concepts as "Thou shalt not kill" and the high value that should be placed on human life, then many of our young people will face the world with no values or respect for people. And with the onslaught of the hedonistic messages broadcast into young minds by way of television and the entertainment industry, it is little wonder that our high schoolers have virtually no moral compass.
For the past fifty years, we have been debating such issues as whether a child can offer a simple prayer over his or her school lunch or whether a few kids can meet in an empty classroom after school to talk about their religious beliefs. In the meantime, our school systems--where young people spend much of their waking hours--have become progressively secular. Moreover, what was once considered essential in education, the teaching of values, has become taboo. But, as some educators have recently noted, our educational system cannot wait until high school to begin teaching moral concepts and restraints.
First, we must open up this dialogue with our young people at home. Then we must echo these principles at school--starting at the elementary school level. And because many public school officials are woefully unprepared to teach such principles, educators will have to seek out people and groups with expertise and training in this important area. Finally, we must reexamine the way in which we lead our own lives and our nation--and the messages we're sending future generations about how we value life and each other.
Our children deserve a future. And they deserve a chance to learn and live under the moral principles that have undergirded our society since its inception. If our schools, families and religious institutions cannot provide this, then we can only expect more tragedies such as that in Santee, California. It is high time that we reorganize our priorities in this country and put children at the top of the list. Our young people not only need guidance--they need reassurance that they are relevant and worthwhile and have value. More than anything else, our young people need to know that we're listening.
WC: 828
ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.
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