Divide and conquer the generations

I watched Friday's Glenn Beck episode on FOX News titled "what are your kids learning?" A portion of it can be found at the website linked into the title. All I can say, is that I was pretty disturbed by the content of the show.

Al Gore, the former vice president of the United States of America, a position to be respected and trusted, was quoted in this Beck episode. Apparently, Gore told middle and high school students who were in attendance of an inaugural youth conference that "there are some things about our world that you know, that older people don't know." He was essentially telling children to ignore their parents because they wont possibly understand the knowledge that this new generation has.

In what way can this message be responsible? In reality, all it does is to sow a seed of insubordination and rebellion in impressionable children. I mean I would be furious if someone tried to come between me and my children and pressure them to believe something while simultaneously telling them to not trust or value our family unit or my perspective. Can we say peer pressure? If this was a drug they were selling I think everyone would, without question, be irate. It's really no different, it's the same tactic. It's simply divide and conquer.

In addition, elementary age children were shown in this Beck episode to be singing in school. What were they singing? Surely songs like "God Bless America" or "O Beautiful." You know, traditional songs sung when we were young and in elementary school. No, they were singing nothing of the kind, but rather were filmed singing "Yes, we can, can, can! Yes, we can, can, can! Yes, we, can, can, can!" or "Mmm, mmm, mmm! Barack Hussein Obama, he said that all must lend a hand to make this country strong again. Mmm, mmm, mmm! Barack Hussein Obama, he said we must be fair today equal work means equal pay. Mmm, mmm, mmm! Barack Hussein Obama." Ok, let's try to be fair for a minute and say maybe this was from the campaign time. But that doesn't make me feel any less uneasy. I mean when and where did it become appropriate to have little kids sing and pledge their loyalty to one man or political party over our collective nation?

I too am part of this "We" generation born between 1978 and 2000 that is being targeted to progressively move our country in a profoundly new direction. And yes, I agree we have monumental issues that need to be addressed. But I am very suspicious and skeptical about the efficacy of the message being conveyed to this "We" generation. This incendiary message does nothing other than promote a generational divide between the youth and their parents, while simultaneously undermining the values and history of our nation and ancestors. In times like these, we need less of this divisive rhetoric and more emphasis on the strength and perseverance of past generations who weathered the storms of great wars and depressions in order to give us a world better than the one they received.

I think one thing this Beck show teaches, is how essential it is to be involved in your child's development even once they enter public or private school. Stay engaged, inquire about what they're learning and, if necessary, pitch in to help shape and improve their curriculum.