Propaganda of US Military through our Schools

[Guest guest]

" Tammy Ballard " <shorty36a

Wed, 23 Feb 2005 16:39:56 -0800 (PST)

 

 

 

Propaganda of US Military through our Schools

 

 

 

 

Propaganda of US Military through our Schools

 

02/18/05

 

Introduction

 

The US Military has turned itself into the greatest tool of

the US Weapons Industry, the largest and most lucrative business

enterprise in the world. For this deadly business to remain

successful, there must be struggles and wars continuously waged for

the rest of this century. Its hand-picked politicians in the US

government, while they speak of peace they promote war, while they

speak of love and respect they promote hatred and disrespect, and

while they advocate family unity and stress the sanctity of marriage,

they do anything to disintegrate this unity and tarnish this sanctity

of marriage both in this nation and overseas through threats,

deliberate inflicted pain and death.

 

Saying One thing and Doing Another

 

Moreover, these political tools of the US Weapons Industry,

while they speak of the sanctity of life before birth, they literally

reveal no respect for life at all after birth, while they speak of the

rights Americans have for a good health care system and good education

for all Americans, they take money away from these two vital elements

to pass them to the manufacture and sales of more and more weapons,

while they profess faith in the God of love and mercy that Jesus

preahced in the New Testament, they follow the inspiration of the God

of hatred and revenge -- the eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth --

that Jesus condemned in the Old Testament.

 

In addition, our US political key figures, while they speak

of the importance of democracy, they promote dictatorship within their

own territory, while they speak of being open with the American

people, they implement their destructive war agenda in a secretive

way, while they speak of the importance for all nations to be free

they restrict the freedom of Americans to move around freely through

numerous prohibitions including traveling into a number of ocuntries

that includes Cuba, while they pride themselves into having a

voluntary military, which is good, they seem now to be contemplating

to institute the draft so that they could further the cause of more

struggles and wars, while they present the United States as an agent

of democracy, freedom, love and concern, they are making this American

nation to look more as an agent of tightened control by the few over

the many that is characterized by servitude, hatred and disregard.

 

Is it possible that Nelson Mandela, along with several other

statesman that shared his feelings, was right when in early 2003 he

said that " at this stage of history the United States has emerged to

be the most dangerous country in the world? " This sad and dangerous

trend could be reversed if the American people where to know about

what is happening in their own nation. But this would be a miracle

equivalent to the rasing of Lazarus from the dead since all the news

media and even the schools at all levels of education have fallen a

prey of the US military and the US weapons industry.

 

Our daily prayer for many years still to come should be

simply: " God have mercy on America and deliver all countries from the

tyranny and domination of any other nation. " Let's listen here below

to what Dr. Teresa Whitehurst, an outstanding concerned educator had

to say in this regard.

Why Go to College, When You Can be Cannon Fodder?

Do You Know What Your Kids Are Watching on " Educational " TV at School?

 

By Dr. Teresa Whitehurst

 

" A parent who's too busy or doesn't realize the importance of tuning

in to his or her child often expresses surprise when the child gets

into trouble or drops out of school. The child knows, but can't

explain, that those " bad kids " he or she hangs out with are alike a

lifeline. This is the secret pullall the unpleasantness and risk in

the world is worth the feeling of being seen and heard by someone. "

 

 

 

I learned something new yesterday. Channel One News, the

" educational " TV show that my daughter Isa and millions of other

American kids watch every morning at school, is busy recruiting our

teenagers into the military.

 

" Mom, they're really aiming at the black kids, and the

Hispanic kids too. I'm so sick of seeing those military ads everyday.

" The Power of One " , and all that lots of my friends are falling for it! "

 

This is especially upsetting to Isa because several of her

black friends, 18, 19 and 20 years old, have been shipped to Iraq.

Some were promised they wouldn't have to be in combat, but would be

doing " mechanical work " , " communications " , or " wiring " .

 

It seems doubtful that, when push comes to shove, kids

who've been promised such jobs will be allowed to avoid combat. One of

her friends has already been shot " in an embarrassing place " ; he's

being treated overseas instead of the US so that he can be sent

quickly back into combat in Iraq. Mr. Bush's military needs warm

bodies, able or not.

 

I stopped the car and asked, " Wait a minute. What do you

mean when you say you're " seeing those military ads every day " ? "

 

" We have to watch this short thing every morning in homeroom

called " Channel One News " , " Isa explained with a weary tone. " It's

educational, supposedly. You know, the day's news, so we'll be up on

current events. But in between the stories, there are more and more

ads for the Army and the Marines. "

 

I thought about " No Child Left Behind " and the malignant

purpose behind that sweet-sounding act that Mr. Bush and his men (and

at least one journalist paid $250,000 by the White House) have

continuously promoted to trusting parents across the US. After

catching my breath I asked,

 

" Are you saying you're being recruited through the TV you

watch during homeroom? " She nodded. I asked again, " What do your

teachers think about this? What about Mr. Hitchens (not his real

name), who told you privately that he's antiwar? Doesn't he say

anything against it? "

 

Persuaded Away from College, Towards the Military

 

" No, I think the teachers and the kids are so used to it at

my school that they don't even notice anymore. I mean, the other day I

was walking to Sociology class and heard the ROTC instructor telling

the kids, " Okay, this is how you hold your M-16 " . The whole culture of

the school is military these days, so nobody notices anything unusual

about this. And I think the few teachers who aren't prowar or proBush

are afraid to get in trouble if they say anything that doesn't sound

pro-military. "

 

As noted in my recent articles on military recruitment and

the coming draft, for two years my daughter and I have been fighting

the aggressive and often sneaky efforts of military recruiters to sign

her up. Certainly they don't want her for her physical prowess-she

weighs 98 pounds-so I can only assume they want her for other reasons.

Either they've seen her high verbal scores, or they just want young

bodies-even a tiny one-to serve as cannon fodder.

 

With a military recruiter present every day in the

cafeteria, military " speakers " visiting classrooms, and huge

recruiting posters in the guidance office, perhaps it's not surprising

that teachers and even guidance counselors have been influenced by the

constant hum of " enlist, enlist, enlist " . Students at Isa's school are

told that, yes, they could consider college, but that it's " very

expensive " and " may not guarantee you a job " , while the military " will

pay for college " and " practically guarantees you'll have a great

career " . Oh, and " a big cash bonus right now if you sign up today! "

 

Joining the military is presented as the one and only path

of honor, heroism, and service to one's country. Many students, not

surprisingly, want to be heroes or get out of poverty, so they're

signing up in droves. College recruiting is a rarity at this school,

and at her previous school, as well. Ah, but military recruiters are

constantly lurking around, spending quality time with fatherless boys,

handing out materials, giving " aptitude tests " (played down as " just

helping you figure out what you're really good at " ), handing out

Marine bumper stickers, and otherwise making their smartly-uniformed

presence known.

 

" It's just everywhere " , Isa continued. " Here's an example:

In gym we don't exercise or play sports like we used to do-now we

" sound off " , just like in the military, while running and doing

jumping jacks, push-ups, and pull-ups. The freshmen are told to shout,

" one, two! " , then the sophomores are supposed to answer, " three,

four! " , and then the whole group of us has to say " Sound off! " I mean

it's ridiculous Mom! How are you supposed to exercise while you're

shouting at the top of your lungs? "

 

As I started driving again, I took a moment to reflect on

this " military culture " that's replacing the educational culture in

America's public schools. Surely Channel One News, which parents and

educators have criticized from the start as nothing more than a way to

let corporations advertise their products directly to kids without

their parents' knowledge, wouldn't go so far as to market the military

to children as a (better, more heroic, more exciting) alternative to

college? Surely they wouldn't override Mom and Dad by sneakily

recruiting through " educational " TV at school? Would they? Could they?

 

Dr. Teresa Whitehurst is a clinical psychologist and writer.

 

 

You can contact her at DrTeresa

 

Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space

PO Box 652

Brunswick, ME 04011

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(207) 319-2017 (Cell phone)

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