Should Classrooms Put George Bush on Trial?

Published on March 4, 2006 By Gideon MacLeish In Current Events

Bill O'Reilly on his radio show the other day detailed a school where the teacher wanted to stage a mock trial of President Bush for war crimes. The principal gave to thumbs up to the action.

O'Reilly's take was, of course, that this shouldn't happen. But this is one area where I disagree pretty strongly.

I say that we should let them have the trial. Let them debate, let them discuss, and let both sides bring evidence for the prosecution and the defense. Its potential value as a teaching tool far exceeds the controversy it brings with it.

One of the most cherished rights we have as citizens is our right to freedom of speech. Our right to discuss these things, to ask the hard questions we need to ask of our leaders. High school debate teams ask harder questions all the time, and those questions are often just as controversial.

Our leaders are not, and have never been, above the law. George W. Bush is no exception, and the questions about war crimes should be asked, not only in the high school class room but in the legislative chambers of our country's leaders. Bush may be entirely innocent of those charges, and should be assumed to be so until/unless a court has determined otherwise. But asking the question of itself is hardly treasonous; it is exactly the action we should expect of a free society.

Comments

MarcieMoo

on Mar 04, 2006

Right on, Gid.

In an era of education where because of laws beyond our control we're punching out kids with no critical thinking skills, I think something like this is an *awesome* activitiy. If we want our country to go ANYWHERE we need to let kids think for themselves and argue positions and consider other viewpoints.

I also applaud this administrator, because I bet s/he made a decision that was probably not that popular.

Locamama

on Mar 04, 2006

I don't know. Maybe because I'm a military wife it really bothers me. I just think that it's very disloyal and unsupportive of our President and his troops. I think kid's should learn to have respect for their leaders. I don't want a totalitarian government that demands respect for their leaders but I feel like we have gone way too far the other direction. I guess if you want to just say this is an academic exercise, fine but I still don't like it. I do agree that no one is above accountability, even the President. I am not some republican George Bush fanatic. I question some of his decisions but know that he has access to intelligence that we will never see.

Dr Guy

on Mar 04, 2006

I think it speaks more for the education system than anything else. As in they are not being taught the necessities of life, but instead being indoctrinated.

I guess after the UW crap, I dont trust teachers to teach, just to indoctinate.

Gideon MacLeish

on Mar 06, 2006

I just think that it's very disloyal and unsupportive of our President and his troops. I think kid's should learn to have respect for their leaders.

You can question a leader and still be loyal, loca. In fact, Theodore Roosevelt felt that to suggest it was improper to criticize the president was itself tantamount to treason. I respect the office, I respect the man who holds the office, but I do not believe it is improper for him to be held accountable for his actions. You and I are held accountable for much less, and our government is led by citizens, not by monarchs.

I think it speaks more for the education system than anything else. As in they are not being taught the necessities of life, but instead being indoctrinated.

Not if it's done right, Dr. If I were a Republican parent with a child in that class, I'd arm my kid with so much documentation that he'd look like F. Lee Bailey. The argument against this is that we should not even DEBATE the character of the President, an idea that is in itself unAmerican. What good are our soldiers doing if there's not a Democracy left for them to defend?

For the record, I DON'T believe Bush lied about WMD (although I DO believe he may have been a victim of faulty intelligence, but he did not intentionally deceive us), I DO believe Saddam Hussein needed to be removed, and I DO believe that our country is doing its best to minimize civilian casualties. But I also believe the questions need to be asked, because if we stop asking questions, what will we do when/if a REAL despot assumes power?

We just need to understand that the answer to the questions may not be what we want it to be.

ParaTed2k

on Mar 07, 2006

I heard that teacher Joseph Kyle is a child rapist and a drug dealer.

I guess freedom of speech has now been extended to the rediculous point that, as long as is said under "free speech" anything goes.

I also heard that Gideon MacLeish is a secret operative of the communist party bent on infiltrating and destroying the Libertarian Party from within. ;~D

Gideon MacLeish

on Mar 08, 2006

I guess freedom of speech has now been extended to the rediculous point that, as long as is said under "free speech" anything goes.

Para,

We're talking about a DEBATE, not a one sided discussion. I'm kind of surprised that you would support the fact that Bush's policies are untouchable, and that questions shouldn't be asked.

That's what alarms me most about all of this. When we stop asking questions, we give the green light to dictatorship. You and I agree that questions should be asked responsibly and without prejudice, but they should be asked all the same. And that is all this proposed action is, ASKING questions.

Like I said, for a Republican parent, the solution to this is obvious. Arm your child with all of the materials to support your position and mop the floor with the "prosecutor". Please remember, this mock trial has no legal standing and is, in fact, an exercise in debate. It has a place in the public school system.

Did you oppose debates about whether Clinton's ethical behaviour made him unfit to hold office? I can tell you for a fact, those debates went on in high schools all across the country, and that parents WEREN'T calling for the heads of the administrations in question.

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