Has it been a week already since I last posted?
Today was one of those "teachable moments" that we have from time to time. A teachable moment is when something happens in the "real world" that can be used in the classroom. This week in World History we have been talking about Napoleon and the Nationalistic sentiments he helped to create among the masses across Europe. In the news this week were two stories that involved nationalism, so I had to take time during class to show how the concept we learn in class applies to the real world. The two events: 1) Turkey invades northern Iraq for a few hours to stop incursions by members of the PKK (Kurdish sepratists desiring their own independent nation), 2) Kosovo is on the verge of declaring their independence from Serbia. In both cases there are ethnic groups who want their own nation to defend themselves from attacks by their government. And in both cases they want land from the nations in which they currently exist.
Understandably, I was thinking about Christmas today. Children are taught from an early age that the idea of "Big Brother" is acceptable. As adults we argue against intrusive measures by government to invade our privacy. The 4th Amendment protects our privacy. Yet it is OK for Santa to watch children all year long?!?! Besides being creepy, an old man watching children, they believed that they are constantly being spied on. Is that acceptable? Or is propaganda for government agents to indoctrinate us into the idea of governmental invasion of privacy? Don't you think it is weird,
"He see you when you're sleepin, he knows if you're awake, he know if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake."
How Orwellian is that?
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