Group Think and the end of Democracy

It used to be they would keep a canary in a mine because they would react to poison in the air long before the miners. It may well be we can detect poison in our government by looking at the children. In his commentary Kids Say the Darndest, Most Stalinist Things, Bill Maher takes a hard look at the frightening attitudes of school children in the United States.

A new survey found that a majority of high schoolers think newspapers should not be allowed to publish without government approval. And almost one in five said that Americans should be prohibited from expressing unpopular opinions.

Lemme tell you little darlings something: This is my livelihood you're messing with, so either learn the Bill of Rights or you don't deserve Social Security.

Now, to those of you who think I'm overreacting: Yes, I understand that when you're in high school you're still very young and that no one really cares what kids say anyway - it's not like priests are dating them for their brains.

But the younger generation is supposed to rage against the machine, not for it; they're supposed to question authority, not question those who question authority.

The Bush administration's use of fear as a path to tyranny is apparently working, the canaries are getting wobbly. The children have no concept of the history of the United States or the foundations on which it was founded.

President Bush once asked, "Is our children learning?" No - they isn't. A more appropriate question might be, "Is our teachers teaching?" In four years, you can teach a gorilla sign language. Is it too much to ask that in the same amount of time a kid be taught what those crazy hippies who founded this country had in mind?

Not really surprising when "education" has become little more than corrective thought.

I know the Morals & Values folks want us to take time out of the school day for prayer and the Ten Commandments and abstinence training and at least two theories of evolution - the one agreed upon by every scientist in the world and the one that involves naked ladies and snakes - but, lest we forget, last month the people of Iraq risked death and danger to send a simple, inspiring message: America, get out of our country. But also, we want the freedoms you take for granted.

Of course as we are finding out freedom to a majority of Iraqis means a small number of clerics tell you what to think and control your life from cradle to grave. Not much different than the Radical Christian Right in this country. Judging from the children they seem to be getting their way.