This has been an interesting week. The turmoil in Egypt has been so interesting to watch. Revolutions fascinate me-I love reading about history. These people are so impassioned that they are willing to die to make the change. I don't know enough about it to make the judgement call. I have been reading about it. What is interesting is the revolution itself. In much the same way, this country was founded by similar individuals who had had enough of the current regime and risked their lives to make a change for the better. What bothers me is that the generation I am teaching in high school have little or no respect for what our ancestors died and fought for. They reluctantly stand for the pledge of allegiance and I am not certain they could all say the words. They laughed that a popular singer sang the wrong words of the national anthem on t.v. It is said that in rehearsal she got them all correct. I felt it was just a commentary on her generation. I would not be surprised if many of my students could not sing every word correctly.
I was raised in a very patriotic household. We tear up at the national anthem. My mom's favorite song of all time is Ray Charles singing "America, the Beautiful." It is such a blessing that we have grown up without the struggle of war in our streets, without the threat of car bombs and without bloody bodies in the street. Yes, we have had an occasional terrorist attack, but they have been so few compared to much of the world. Do our students understand that what is going on in Egypt happened here? Do they understand that our liberty and peace came with a price? It is a different time and a different setting than Egypt's, but nonetheless, there are lessons there for our students.
God Bless America,
Lis
