I remember in grade school my fifth-grade teacher apparently teaching us as kids how this country was founded, and the principles upon which it was founded on. They taught us that the pilgrims settled in the new world to escape religious persecution. They taught us that all people are created equal. They taught us about the 1st Amendment (freedom of speech). But why did they not teach us about the Second Amendment? I remember quite the contrary, I recall them teaching us “that guns are bad, gun owners are bad, and there’s an epidemic of shootings in our country that can only be solved by taking everyone’s guns away.” Nothing could be farther from the truth.
They taught us that we needed to be fearful of our school being attacked by active shooters, they make us perform shooting drills, where we would have to hide under our desk. They made children fearful of firearms, They tried to make us conform to their agenda of being good little citizens, they have been trying to chip away at our fundamental rights. They failed to teach us that we were more likely to die of natural causes, or from a car wreck, or from an opioid overdose. They tried to instill in children the fear of guns, instead of a respect for them.
Our teachers did not engage our curiosity, or teach us critical thinking skills, or most importantly of all to question and challenge authority.
“I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery” — Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, Jan. 30, 1787.
Zain Eisenberg
Kerhonkson
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