Misguided intentions (Score 1)

Demagoguery and the perception of ideological majority will sway the public opinion of a group of humans. This is a basic precept of human nature that has been recognized for centuries. Tyrants and autocrats have used it to their advantage. The founders of the American democratic institution saw it and attempted to plan around it by creating a bicameral legislature, with a Senate to act as a filter to the will of the American people. Journalism used to act as the senate of the media. Ones journalistic integrity dictated what was appropriate to be reported. There was an invisible line between the public eye and the private life. Modern media, however, is a far cry from the journalism that existed previously. The finest in yellow journalism is presented to us daily at 6 and 11. The average American falls for it every day. Acting in horror and dismay over the shooting of children in Columbine and bemoaning the dangers that the average teen faces in the modern, drug infested, violence saturated, chaotic world of today. What we seem to forget is that 150 years ago those same children would have fought in wars, would be parents, would be adults. The superficial, expose aspect of the media and the ambient voice of culture have made it easy for most people to ignore the real flaws in our society, and instead get righteous and indignant about the effects of these flaws. And shame on a big business like Pinkerton to take advantage of this. I doubt that Pinkerton has invested any money in studying the effects of such a draconian program. I doubt even more that they take into consideration that the primary reason for education is to teach children the skills that they will need when they are adults. If they have, I am sure that they consider these skills to be Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. How wrong can they be? Schools should provide this education, but they should also teach other skills that might not be available at home, communication, diversity awareness, and the ability to get along with others. Instead of attempting to make money off of our cultural insecurities wouldn't their efforts be better placed trying to educate? For centuries Americans of all colors, sizes, sexes, religions and dispositions have fought for the freedom to simply be themselves. It's the reason that many of our ancestors fled to this continent. Our authors (Orwell, Huxley) have warned us about being complacent to the hand of big business. It has been said that a king is like a giant, and he must always be careful where he places his feet. This is true of corporations and governments of all forms. While I applaud Pinkerton for their efforts to reduce violence in our schools, I hope that they will keep in mind that they are this proverbial giant. Weeding out the 'weirdos' may solve school shootings, but at what cost? Anyone seen a picture of Einstein lately? How about Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or any of the other CEO's driving the information revolution? Being weird is a right of being American. This right brings along its disadvantages but I would rather have these bumps along the way. After all, it is often said that the trains did run on time under Hitler. What do we value more, A uniform and orderly culture, or one of diversity and individual freedom?