Conservative Media Defeat Educational Experience

It’s normal for teachers to ask students to participate in projects. It’s part of an important learning process. Sometimes these projects might draw complaints from the students for their difficulty, but rarely do parents or others complain about the actual project being done. That all changed for the worse when a mock trial that put President Bush on trial for "crimes against civilian populations" and "inhumane treatment of prisoners" was conducted in a Parsippany High School AP Government class.

The right became very angry. Conservative media pundits everywhere were in a fit. Freedom of speech and educational value be damned, they weren’t going to let this go on. How dare these students even suggest that any laws limited President Bush’s powers? Who would even think that our President, the savior of democracy, freedom, and apple pies, be put on trial? The answer is that the trial is an important exercise of free speech, educational freedom, and a vital lesson on the powers of the executive branch.

The trial is indeed a very important exercise in the powers of free speech. Criticism of government officials is necessary to the democratic process. Public discourse helps to inform the citizens of the country on important issues and sides that parties are taking. Even views that some would consider extreme, such as Bush being put on trial, need to be tolerated in order to further public discussion and discourse on important topics. Limiting this trial would be sending a message to the future citizens of America saying that criticizing our President at all would be wrong, and that anything that tells us to the contrary is treason.

But more importantly, the trial should continue to protect academic freedom. When parents and outside administrators are allowed undue influence over the classroom, the end result is a bad education. Teachers aren’t allowed to teach the material because they always have the threat of parents hanging over their heads. Tests would be abolished because of whiny students complaining to their parents. Nothing would ever get done in a classroom again. Public schools would truly become failures.

But lastly, people must learn more about the United States government, especially about the powers of the President. In fact, the only thing that the majority of the US knows about the President is his name. Furthering knowledge on the powers of the executive branch will make these students better citizens for the future.

Why would such an issue become huge then? It’s because the conservative talking heads tacitly think that if Bush were to be put on trial, he would be convicted. In their minds, the evidence against Bush is very strong. They don’t want a trial, even a mock one, to reach a verdict because they fear the chance of a guilty verdict. What is ignored is the fact that without this trial continuing as it should, neither side of this debate, including the defense of Bush, will become known to the public. People will just assume that Bush would have been guilty had the trial gone on. If the conservatives really believed in the innocence of their president, then they would have let a verdict be rendered, and if they had, then there’s a chance that they could have won. It’s too bad that this event, as usual, was botched by the Republicans who overreacted.

Idealism and what's wrong

In today's society, especially in the government, people follow idealism rather than what is right. I am probably guilty of this, but nevertheless, it's not a good thing. What I mean is, that if what you're trying to follow doesn't work, stop following it. For instance, if you believe that cutting taxes while fighting a war will not affect the US economy, which it clearly is, change your policy and raise taxes. Learn from your mistakes.

Too many people will not admit they're wrong when it comes to certain issues. And way too many people will not change what they're doing if something is wrong. Going back to another one of Mr. President's issues, cutting taxes for the filthy rich does not give them an incentive to create companies to produce jobs. Mr. President is very bent on this, and he will always follow this down to his grave. But what you have to realize is that, he dismisses any criticizm that goes his way. So of course he's not going to listen to you. Figures, Mr. President doesn't even watch the news.

Which leads me to my next point. Our current president doesn't seem to be out there for the people of the United States. More or less, Mr. Bush is only following his own set of ideals. If he quit firing those critisizing him, maybe he'd see the flaws in his policy, and maybe he would change. Of course, if you did that, many people would probably start poking at your political agenda, but isn't helping your country worth more than your second term? Is sticking with your policy which continues to draw America down for your second term worth it? If you really care for your country, you'd learn from your mistakes, you'd learn what's going on in the world, and you adjust. You're actually out there for the people, not your own warped ideas. The people may not like the fact that you flip flop a lot, but if it's for the good of the country....and it produces results, so much the better.

This is why I hold George Bush Seinor in higher respect than I do George Bush Junior. George Bush Seinor actually taxed the Americans, and fought a war correctly. He did what was right for America. Much of President Clinton's success comes from Bush Seinor. George Bush Seinor was not elected for a second term. BUT, he did good for the United States. Knowing that the general public wouldn't like the high taxes, he followed his advisors, and realized that fighting a war with less taxes would be bad. Something our current Bush does not realize. Now George Bush Seinor...HE, was out for the people. He wasn't there to win his second term, it would seem he could care less. What he did was for the better of the United States, and that's all that really matters about being the president.

Now, I'm not specifically picking out George Bush Junior, he just serves as a decent example. There are many people like this.

1 + 1 will NEVER EVEVER equal 3.
However, a lawyer can always explain how it does.

Keep an open mind.
Don't follow idealism when it fails.