Buyer Beware

My students come from rough neighborhoods. They’re disadvantaged in many respects – economical, social, and intellectual. Two-parent households are rare; many kids have no contact with Dad. Mom works two jobs just to keep them in substandard housing and junk food. They grow up unsupervised. My students have learning disabilities and will struggle just to graduate. Many have no idea what to do with the rest of their lives.

Why not join the Marines?

Thanks to the No Child Left Behind Act, our armed services acquire students’ addresses and heavily recruit the poorest of the poor. They sell their lies to children who have no other options. Why? Several reasons. Our military desperately needs to fill bloodied boots. Word has gotten out among mainstream Americans now that the war in Iraq ain’t going so well. Many parents are understandably squeamish about sending sons or daughters off to die for reasons our President hasn’t shared with us. So why not go after the ignorant? Feed the rich; bury the poor. It’s the same old story.

Toward the end of high school, I remember feeling aimless and the Army sounded like a good deal. I signed up, but changed my mind after reading the words I’d have to recite. I could never take an oath to obey Reagan. No, Becky had to go off to Boot Camp on her own. For the next few years, I railed against the military until a Vietnam class required me to interview my dad about his duty in Southeast Asia. Since then, I’ve had nothing but respect for our soldiers.

I still don’t want my sons to join up. More than that, I’d be disappointed if they did. I’m not one of those mothers whose pride in offspring overshadows all other moral values. I knew when I worked at a women’s health clinic during college that my mother, adamantly pro-life, did not approve. It helps to know where parents stand even if the kid chooses another path.

My students don’t seem to have a clue what they or their parents believe in. They have wings to fly, but no guidance or flight pattern. That leaves many of them open to less than positive choices. Some organizations are trying to tell kids the other side of the recruiting story. They are meeting much resistance. Obviously, teaching students to read fine print is controversial. Often we’re labeled unpatriotic. But I owe my students something other than support for a one-way ticket into hell. I’d rather be labeled a pinko-commie than see another student rush off to die for Bush and his rich oil buddies. I want them to live and grow and help others do the same. That’s why I stand in front of them every day, answering questions and encouraging independent thought.

We owe our students a choice. Selling kids a bad bill of goods while draped in an American flag is not my idea of patriotism.