Youth Values and September 11th

September 11^th has had a profound impact on my generation. It was the formative event of our political lives and shapes our worldview in profound ways. We have come of age during an era of conservative dominance that has seen the basic foundation of our democracy eaten away. Over the next few weeks, I will be writing about these lost values.

Young people have grown up in an era when our rights are traded away for the promise of security. We have been told that only the guilty need to worry and everyone else will be fine. Youth are encouraged to only think about our own personal safety and ignore the collective rights that are protected by the Constitution. Unfortunately, this approach to security has placed some of our most cherished principles on the chopping block.

The first principle is the search for knowledge. Young people have always been intimately involved with academics and intellectual development. Since September 11^th, conservatives have sought to control the content in the classroom to conform to their world view. They have targeted professors and academic disciplines that are critical of U.S. foreign policy. The right has also attacked study abroad programs that focus on majority Muslim nations. Ultimately, they seek to influence the basic worldview of my generation.

Their attack on professors is best exemplified by an organization called “Students for Academic Freedom.” Founded by right-wing activist David Horowitz, SAF encourages young people to report on unpatriotic statements made by their professors. They also pressure state legislatures to pass something called “The Student Bill of Rights.” Their proposals would penalize colleges and universities that don’t hire enough conservatives.

Conservatives has also tried to change the focus of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies programs. They attack programs that are insufficiently pro-American and label any effort to understand the motives of Islamic extremism as borderline treason. Organizations like Campus Watch have made a cottage industry out of attacking Middle Eastern studies programs. Some universities have responded to the pressure and drastically overhauled their approach to controversial subjects.

These attacks on entire disciplines seek to limit the scope of knowledge accessible to my generation. Conservatives want to wrap our worldview and force their version of the truth. Students should be allowed to weigh all sides of an argument before making a decision. The right wants to limit our exploration to their approved sources. Young people need to be able to explore diverse subject to make informed decisions.

Finally, conservatives have targeted one of the best ways for students to learn about the world: study abroad programs. They have sought to limit the number of students from Arab and Muslim countries by enforcing rigid quotas. While they claim this is for security reasons, there is undeniably a jingoistic tinge to these efforts. Conservatives have also tried to discourage American students from learning Arabic or studying in Muslim majority countries. They want my generation to wage a war against radical Islam, but don’t want us to understand the enemy.

The quest for knowledge is a vital part of being young. Conservatives have sought to limit the scope of our inquiry to shape my generation's worldview to their liking. Instead of promoting conformity and obedience, academics should teach students how to think critically and question authority. Young people must be equipped with these skills to be informed citizens in a democratic society.