Kids Say the Darndest Things

They sure do! Just check out today's Register's vapid Reply All.

Here's my favorite from this edition - From the incredibly insightful Sasha Kemmet:

Last week, a Brazilian man living in England was chased by plainclothed police officers, pinned down and shot five times in the head and chest. At the time, officers believed he was involved in the London bombings. Later, it was revealed that the man had no connection to the bombings. It is a tragic story, less about the mistakes of Scotland Yard than about underlying sentiments of fear and anger. People are angry about what happened and scared that it might happen again. [Emphasis mine.]

Ladies and gentlemen - behold the product of our politically correct, postmodern educational system. When people blow other people up in subway trains and busses, people get "scared and angry" and are afraid that it might happen again. And that's really "tragic" ya know.

What's tragic...? That those people may actually may want to do something about it to see that it doesn't happen again?

These emotions are not far from our own. According to a recent AP-Kyodo poll, six in 10 Americans think a new World War is likely. Fear, as history has shown us, is not a good leader. In the 1940s, fear led us to imprison thousands of civilian Japanese-Americans. In the 1950s, fear led us on a McCarthyism witch-hunt of scholars and entertainers exercising "too much" freedom of speech.

Ah... the old chestnuts - Japanese internment in the 40s and McCarthyism in the 50s. But the 60s... them were the days! Oh, Sasha - you forgot about Wounded Knee and the Robber Barons. If you're going to recite the litany girl, go for it all!

But of course, you're right. Because the West is imperfect, we have no right defend ourselves. I mean, isn't that obvious. We should be still, introspective, passive and think about how we created the "root causes" that made these poor young men strap on nailbombs and blow up some "innocent" commuters. Free Mumia!

Today, fear leads us to passively approve an act that allows the government to search our personal, medical and even library records without our knowledge or a warrant. We need to be a well-informed and well-educated populace, not spied on by Big Brother, to turn our fear into thoughtful, positive action.

And "even LIBRARY records...". Oh boy...

But I do agree that "we need a well-informed and well-educated populace". And Sasha, you make that argument more strongly than you'll ever know.

If these kids are Iowa's best and brightest - and that goes for their token conservative voice... oh man.

Update: I almost forgot the capper! In the print version of The Register, what was immediately left of Reply All? A David Broder column the Register titled: Our children are failing history.

Beautiful.