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Today is the 15 year Anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombings by Timothy McVeigh that marked the deadliest domestic terror attack of U.S. soil. Is homegrown radicalism on the rise again?
This video is a chilling interview that was aired on The Today Show this morning and it answers many questions for me, as to why McVeigh committed such crimes and what his rational was...he is quoted in stating "As I analyzed the history of not just the U.S. but all nations throughout the history of mankind, people have killed for what they believed was the greater good..." McVeigh went on to say that "killing is accepted," and how do we teach our children what is right and wrong when on the news there are reports every day of what is happening overseas with our U.S. military. As a graduate of a Military University I understand first hand how it feels to see my friends put their lives on the line for our country, some of whom have given their lives for the freedom of Americans. How do we teach our children what is right, when killing is wrong? Especially when some of these children might have parents in the military serving overseas to protect and defend the U.S.?
My last question to all of you reading is, how do we as future teachers provide the foundation for our students to be individual thinkers, to question authority (to an extent), and to provide the foundation of ethical decision they will make in the future? I would love to find articles and interviews from McVeigh's elementary teachers describing him as a child. At what point in his life did his teacher or family fail to provide him the right love, care, attention and support to have him believe this was for the greater good of mankind? 168 people including 19 children were killed by a fellow American in our own backyard.
I understand this doesn't go along with Dewey and what we are learning currently but I do believe this is something that is affecting our lives today, and fear and distrust of the government is something that can affect anyone. The anchor stated that McVeigh "did not see himself as a lone wolf. He saw himself as a movement...A guns-rights based, anti-government, so-called patriot movement." It is important to realize that not everyone believes that what our government does and stands for is always "good" and how do we as teachers remain neutral to such ideas?
Just something to think about today, and take a moment to remember those who were killed in Oklahoma back on April 19th, 1995.
Here is a link to the Today Show website with the video if your flashplayer does not work (like mine!)
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/36640839#36640839
2 comments:
What a horrible tragedy! I have to believe that people like McVeigh don’t become that way because their teachers fail them. I had some pretty crummy teachers and I didn’t grow up to be a mass murder. Some people are just crazy or evil or both. But that’s just my opinion.
And it’s a shame that nut cases like him try to get on the “gun rights” band wagon. We have guns in our house for hunting and protection, but we certainly don’t fall into the same category as domestic terrorists like McVeigh.
As teachers, I think it’s OK to encourage students to question their government in a healthy way. That’s how reform happens. People who don’t agree with what the government is doing can make a change through voting. That’s the beauty of our government. In America, it doesn’t take blood to lead a revolution.
Well put Julie! But it would be interesting to see what kind of child becomes a monster like McVeigh!
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