Broken Records

It's always the same.

Every single day, I have this one little boy who will not participate. It doesn't matter what I do. He really seems to believe that he is a victim to the rest of the world. He does not cooperate. He intentionally breaks all the rules. He has even been known to throw a few punches. When I ask him why he did whatever it is he has done, he makes sure I know that someone else did something completely unrelated that forced his hand. So and so said this, called me this, wouldn't do this.

In his mind, his acts of civil unrest, if you will, are his last ditch efforts to protect his right to live. His "wars" are all entirely justified. I wonder where he got such an idea? Did his society instill in him such a pride in his own rights? Is it the American understanding of selfish materialism? Does this child really believe that the wrongdoings of any other party give him the right to accomplish his own ends by whatever means he deems necessary? ...Isn't that the American way?

Just war theories rule our playgrounds. Children are notorious for deciding that the world isn't fair. We are raised to believe that we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of some abstract known as happiness that every man decides for himself.

We began introspectively. At first, it was our own rights that we had to protect at all costs. The citizens of this great nation deserved their freedom because they had earned it. They deserve this land because they took it. Those rights must now be maintained, lest someone else steal freedom and land from under our noses.

And so just war pervades our thinking from the get-go. When a cruel tyrant oppresses those we sympathize with, it is our right and our duty to end injustice. We were so impressed by our own abilities to institute democracy, that we feel we must protect the rights we believe in all over the world. Throughout the course of history, we have developed what we believe is true justice. And now, where we once simply took freedom and land from those who disagreed, now we force freedom and democracy on anybody weaker than ourselves. Where was our just war policy for those we robbed and murdered to gain our land?

When did we develop our concept of justice? Is war really an effective policy when all other options are exhausted? Or did the fat kid who pushed off the slide teach us to ignore peaceful resolutions?

This punk kid who always ends up in my office seems to always have a smirk for every act of discipline. Our faith in the democratic system has led our children to be martyrs. They aren't bombing buses or firing guns. They're growing up with the belief that their way is worth dying for. Then they stop playing with toys and start playing with war.