Poverty, militarism and the public schools
By Robert C. Koehler
Whats the difference between education and obedience? If you see very little, you probably have no problem with the militarization of the American school system or rather, the militarization of the impoverished schools . . . the ones that cant afford new textbooks or functional plumbing, much less art supplies or band equipment.
The Pentagon has been eyeing these schools broken and gang-ridden for a decade now, and seeing its future there. It comes in like a cammy-clad Santa, bringing money and discipline. In return it gets young minds to shape, to (I fear) possess: to turn into the next generation of soldiers, available for the coming wars.
The United States no longer has a draft because the nation no longer believes in war, except abstractly, as background noise. But it has an economic draft: It claims recruits largely from the neighborhoods of hopelessness. Joining the U.S. military is the only opportunity to escape poverty available to millions of young Americans. We have no government programs to build the infrastructure of peace and environmental sustainability we cant afford that, so it has to happen on its own (or not at all) but our military marches on, funded at more than half a trillion dollars a year, into ever more pointless wars of aggression.
Glory, glory hallelujah. Id never been to a Memorial Day parade in my life, but I went to this years parade in downtown Chicago because members of the Chicago chapter of Veterans for Peace were going to be there, protesting the militarization of the citys schools.
MORE HERE: http://yonside.com/poverty-militarism-public-schools/