What Will Happen Next?

Our world is seemingly engulfed within a whirlpool of diminishing sensibility and decreasing ability to behave rationally. This apparent epidemic is infecting large numbers of us, and appears to be hitting the USA in a way that destroys the very fabric of a civilized nation. A recent example of irrational action struck me as being particularly insidious since it pertains to the treatment of a small child in a public school in New Orleans by supposedly educated school teachers and administrators. This example is illustrative of how irrational we are becoming and the deepening threat to civil discourse and community coherence. I use this example to elicit your introspective thoughts and actual behavior regarding the necessity of regaining our collective senses and restoring rational behavior. Please consider the root causes of our nations’ chaotic political discourse and relate the so-called bigger issues to what happened to this small child in a public school in the USA. If this deplorable event touches you, think about your response to the irrational political discourse that is plaguing our country. Has the infection escaped and caused irreparable harm already. We must regain our senses before the infection becomes incurable.

Here is the e-mail that I received from the Southern Poverty Law Center that deserves attention from all of us and must spur us to take constructive action against the growing threat of irrational speech and actions:

“It's not right for a 6-year-old boy to be handcuffed and shackled to a chair by an armed security officer because he "acted up" in school. But that's exactly what happened at the Sarah T. Reed Elementary School in New Orleans. In keeping with our work to reform the abusive juvenile justice system in the Deep South, we've filed a lawsuit against the school district to stop the brutal and unconstitutional policy of chaining students who break minor school rules.
Our client, J.W., is a typical first-grader. He's just four feet tall and weighs 60 pounds. He enjoys playing basketball, being read to by his parents, coloring and playing outside with friends. But his school treated him like an animal. Within one week, he was twice forcibly arrested, handcuffed and shackled to a chair for talking back to a teacher and later arguing with a classmate over a seat. The amount of force used on J.W. was simply ridiculous and, predictably, inflicted severe emotional distress. Shockingly, this level of punishment is official school policy. We're not just fighting for the rights of J.W., but for all the students at Reed Elementary.

Unfortunately, J.W.'s story is hardly unique. All across the nation, schools have adopted draconian "zero-tolerance" policies that treat children like criminals and turn schools into prison-like environments. The primary function of school is to help educate our children so that they can become productive, well-informed adults. These policies do just the opposite — they seize on any opportunity to criminalize behavior and eject children from schools, driving up dropout rates.
Since being chained and shackled, J.W. has become withdrawn and afraid to go to school. His counselor reports that he has been "deeply affected and traumatized." We're determined to hold the school and school district accountable for what they've done and to stop their barbaric treatment of children so that no one else suffers like J.W.”
Thank you for supporting our work and for everything you do to protect children in your own community. We'll keep you apprised of any updates in this appalling case.

Thank you for your support,
J. Richard Cohen
President, Southern Poverty Law Center

Another Way to Acknowledge July 4

This weekend our country acknowledges the beginning of The Revolutionary War and our nation's Declaration of Independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776. Great Britain, under King George III decided to wage war, rather than allow independence for the thirteen states occupied by colonists who were mainly descendants of immigrants from Great Britain and slaves bought from slave traders. Thus, the war that lasted for 8 years ended in the defeat of the greatest war machine on Earth at the time, Great Britain. Many European countries supported the colonial soldiers in our embryonic collection of independent states and helped defeat the British. Seven years later after a bloody war, the thirteen independent states started the process to form a nation, the United States of America, as defined by our Constitution that was finally ratified by the thirteen states in 1789. The Revolutionary War was fought for independence from Great Britain and untold thousands of civilians and military people from the thirteen states, Great Britain, and others who died because an avaricious leader, King George, decided to send men to war rather than give people independence. This weekend many of us will pop firecrackers, barbecue hamburgers, drink alcoholic beverages, and celebrate a three-day weekend without considering for even a moment the fact that many thousands died needlessly because of a crazed leader who cared less about human life than his retention of power.

Since the Revolutionary War our nation, now composed of 50 states, including a former territory, Hawaii, and several territories that we still control, but do not permit the occupants a vote or representation in Congress, our country has fought in numerous wars, all on foreign lands, except for the Civil War that divided our country and still does. If the Civil War in which an estimated 500,000 people died in combat and because of civilian massacres, and all the wars against Native Americans the total number of war dead and maimed for our nation alone would likely exceed more than 6 million people, almost the present population of Wisconsin. Those who died and were maimed in wars fought throughout the world since written history began about 2,000 BC probably number in the hundreds of millions. We will never know the actual numbers but they are mind-shattering for sure.

Should we celebrate the Fourth of July to commemorate the beginning of our country’s existence because of war? Would it not be better to acknowledge those who have died because of leaders who sent people to war to achieve their purposes whether noble or not? We have been engaged in wars beginning with our the first settlements on Plymouth Rock in 1612, and will probably be fighting in wars that we or some other nations initiates in the foreseeable future. Millions of combatants and civilians will undoubtedly die and be suffer in future wars just as they have in the past, unless rational leaders can intervene to stop wars before they start.

We should stop celebrating the 4th of July as a symbol of military strength and instead reflect in a somber manner about the senselessness of war, and what we and the rest of the world must do to stop all wars before they begin. Then we will be doing something constructive rather than celebrating our nations first war, that indirectly promotes future wars by romanticizing deadly consequences.