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Why should my son have an opinion on this?
1 posted on 01/16/2002 4:55:23 PM PST by mommybain
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To: mommybain
He should copy somebody else opinion, and sign his own name. It would be symbolic.
2 posted on 01/16/2002 4:57:18 PM PST by evolved_rage
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To: mommybain
I'd have him quote MLKing as an ultra-conservative...people DO change, don't they?
4 posted on 01/16/2002 4:59:23 PM PST by InvisibleChurch
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To: mommybain
He's also supposed to offer an opinion on what MLK would think of his 'dream'

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/609186/posts

5 posted on 01/16/2002 5:00:45 PM PST by Thinkin' Gal
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To: mommybain
Hoo boy. Is your son supposed to channel Dr. King, like Hillary did Eleanor?
6 posted on 01/16/2002 5:00:51 PM PST by white rose
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To: mommybain
He would say that none of this would have happened if the USA had not undermined the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan with our racist and imperialist foreign policy.
7 posted on 01/16/2002 5:01:42 PM PST by ambrose
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To: mommybain
Just block and copy King's speech re Vietnam and substitute Afghanistan for Vietnam:

http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~wadhwani/afam01/1967.htm

Martin Luther King's opinion on the Vietnam War:

In 1967, the war in Vietnam received much attention from Martin Luther King who conveyed his feelings in a speech in April. His main points in the speech were condemning the United States government for spending all resources on the war and ignoring the worsening race problems. The civil rights movement was no longer at the forefront of politics. He also pointed out the irony that American black men were taken 8,000 miles away in order to fight for civil liberties for South-East Asians when they did not enjoy the same rights in America. He commented that although it was commonplace to see blacks and whites die together on t.v. in Vietnam, had they been in the States, the same boys would be segregated. Also, Martin Luther King spent his whole life during civil rights movement preaching non-violent action and Vietnam was a complete contradiction to his beliefs.

9 posted on 01/16/2002 5:04:30 PM PST by ambrose
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To: mommybain
Good grief. What a shame he has to do such nitwittery in lieu of education. In any event, maybe MLK would be outraged, angry and appalled at the way blacks are being sucked into Islam. Surely there are a few quotes expressing his belief in the truthfulness of the Christian faith.
10 posted on 01/16/2002 5:05:32 PM PST by mountaineer
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To: mommybain
Have him write an opinion piece on what a real American hero like Clarence Thomas thinks about the war. See how the teacher reacts to that...
12 posted on 01/16/2002 5:08:14 PM PST by ambrose
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To: mommybain
He's also supposed to offer an opinion on what MLK would think of his 'dream'.

Well MLK said he dreamed of a day when people would not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character, so....maybe she wants your son to write that 'we shouldn't judge Muslims'? My opinion of that is that Islam is a religion - something someone chooses. A persons race is not a choice - it is God given. Maybe just reviewing that fact with your son will help him decide what his opinion is and what MLK would be thinking about this war....FWIW.

14 posted on 01/16/2002 5:09:19 PM PST by Born in a Rage
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To: mommybain
What about what MLK's family is trying to do with the 'dream'? all the big bucks they keep making off that speech. Sell-out, they call it sell-out. Mommy, I am not trying to flame you, and I appreciate your wanting to help your baby, but please do consider others ways of educating the lad. It's just gonna get worse.
15 posted on 01/16/2002 5:09:24 PM PST by bimmer
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To: mommybain
I am a homeschooler so my only advice would be to contact the teacher and administrator and refuse. However, I understand if that is too militant. I studied MLK jr. in college for social work. I think your son could write about MLK being a community activist. Perhaps his "dream" could be seen as having a unified America. And that we now have a stronger sense of patriotism as a whole. That most Americans see others as Americans first and not a color. As far as the War, well that is race baiting big time,however, I think I would try to turn it around somehow. One of MLKs famous quotes is " keep your eyes on the prize" So I would turn that into Americans being patient for change and bringing terrorists to justice.

It is obvious tht your son's teacher is trying to force these students to conform to the liberal point of view. How old is your son? Is he willing to take some heat from the teacher if the answer isn't PC enough?

Poor kids. I wish you and him luck! Keeping my fingers crossed for you both.

17 posted on 01/16/2002 5:11:23 PM PST by Diva Betsy Ross
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To: mommybain
A good analysis might begin with a look at Nelson Mandela, he was forced by reality to back an immediate armed response, but has moved away from it. I went here: http://www.fair.org/media-beat/950104.html to get a glimpse at MLK, Jr.'s thought process. Like Mandela, he was obviously beating the communist drum. If you were a communist, of course our foreign policy was terrible. But, we won that war. There are not too many open American commies any more, and MLK would have adapted too. And tell your kid to form his own opinions and do his own homework.
20 posted on 01/16/2002 5:12:38 PM PST by Kaisersrsic
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To: mommybain
Have him explain how Dr. King has been an aid to travelers visiting US cities for the first time, when one reaches MLK Boulevard in any city you immediately know you have gone far enough.
21 posted on 01/16/2002 5:12:39 PM PST by TightSqueeze
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To: mommybain
I thought that MLK DAY was milk day the first time I saw it. I asked my sister, "what in the heck is milk day?" She never lets me forget that.
24 posted on 01/16/2002 5:15:27 PM PST by GWfan
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To: mommybain
I think that this may help, and may enlighten the teacher and class. MLK is specifically referring to Communism, but his points can clearly refer to the Taliban and militant terrorists.

Martin Luther King Jr. on Communism and the State:


"Third, I opposed communism's political totalitarianism. In communism, the individual ends up in subjection to the state. True, the Marxists would argue that the state is an 'interim' reality which is to be eliminated when the classless society emerges; but the state is the end while it lasts, and man is only a means to that end. And if man's so-called rights and liberties stand in the way of that end, they are simply swept aside. His liberties of expression, his freedom to vote, his freedom to listen to what news he likes or to choose his books are all restricted. Man becomes hardly more, in communism, than a depersonalized cog in the turning wheel of the state.

This deprecation of individual freedom was objectionable to me. I am convinced now, as I was then, that man is an end because he is a child of God. Man is not made for the state; the state is made for man. To deprive man of freedom is to relegate him to the status of a thing, rather than elevate him to the status of a person. Man must never be treated as means to the end of the state; but always as an end within himself."


Then, perhaps your son can show the following info the teacher as an example of the Muslims among us...one group who represents the moderate majority, the group that thinks American public schools are corrupt, and the militants who want us to convert or die. It's that simple. Gee, they have a rich history of slavery as well, including today in countries like Sudan.

1. We must make a pledge to never send our children to the schools of the kuffar. We must remove our children from these schools and the cesspool of immorality and deviance that they have become. We must do this at all costs. Make whatever sacrifice that needs to be made to send them to the Muslim school. If money and the lack thereof is an issue then we must educate them at home. It is better that they be educated at home or at the Muslim school and not have access to some of the amenities that are available in the kuffar school then to place them in the hands of the kufr school system and gamble with the moral and social welfare of our children.

2. We should understand that these public schools are set up and run by our open enemies. The curriculum is set by our open enemies. The policies and procedures is set by our open enemies. Once this is understood then what kind of Muslim would send his/her child to be educated by the enemy of Allah and His Rasul (saaws)?

3. We must develop and maintain a zero tolerance for sending any Muslim child to play with the Fire that awaits him/her in the enemy's school system. If you have all of your children safely enrolled in the Muslim school then join on with others and sponsor need-based scholarships for other Muslim children to attend the Muslim school. We can ill-afford to sacrifice one Muslim child to the wolves.

4. We must put the conspiracy evidence before the youth in clear and concise terms and then ask them who are the distributors and producers of the music that they listen to? Who are the producers of the television and movie entertainment that they watch?. Who are the proponents of liberalism and secularism in the society ? Then we must be bold and courageous enough to tell them that these people are the Jews and their Christian co-conspirators.
See A "Moderate" American Muslim Parent's View, for the rest of the article.

Or for a more radical and widespread look at the folks the left defends with every pretense of "peace":
Muslim Brotherhood Movement Homepage:

Theme

Allah is our objective.
The messenger is our leader.
Quran is our law.
Jihad is our way.
Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.


. Maybe after a talk with your son's teacher (go meet her) you can meet with the Prinicipal and ask why the teacher doesn't know why or who we're fighting.
25 posted on 01/16/2002 5:15:58 PM PST by Ragtime Cowgirl
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To: mommybain
MLK would find that his dream has turned into a nightmare as people continue to judge others by the color of their skin, not the content of their character. I'm referring to affirmative action which is nothing more than institutionalized racial profiling. He would be appauled that after more than a generation of racial preferences, many blacks have not advaced themselves preferring instead to blame whitey and make demands for more hand outs such as reparations. MLK would be ashamed of his successors, Jackson and Sharpton, for their promotion of divisiveness among the races as well as their shameless self-aggrandizing activities.
26 posted on 01/16/2002 5:19:20 PM PST by spindoctor
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To: mommybain
Why should my son have an opinion on this?

This is a question you should ask the teacher. I can speculate and justify the assignment in several ways. But only the person making the assignment can answer the question, if you can't.

Despite the BS opinions heard here about MLK, he was a hero in american history. He personally led a non-violent movement which caused changes in laws about how government treated citizens differently in routine practices. this was sorely needed and he did it in a good way, unlike those who opposed him with bombings and shootings.

27 posted on 01/16/2002 5:20:09 PM PST by breakem
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To: mommybain
.

What grade is your child in?

.

28 posted on 01/16/2002 5:20:51 PM PST by mrsmith
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To: mommybain
Here is a recent article that may have been the inspiration for the teacher's assignment, from the left-wing www.CommonDreams.org:
Published on Tuesday, October 30, 2001

Martin Luther King: A Domestic Terrorist?
by Ira Chernus

If Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were alive today, he might well be leading acts of civil disobedience against the war in Afghanistan. And he would probably be charged with domestic terrorism, under the new anti-terrorism act. Anyone who has any links to his organization, or contributed money to it, could be charged too.

According to Section 803 of the act, it takes three things to make you a domestic terrorist. You have to break a law (federal or state). Your lawbreaking has to involve “acts dangerous to human life.” And it must “appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce” a civilian population and / or the government.

Suppose Dr. King and a bunch of others sat down in a highway in front of a truck carrying cluster bombs on their way to Afghanistan. This one should be an easy shot for a prosecutor who wants to charge him with terrorism. He definitely broke the law. “Acts dangerous to human life”? You betcha, the prosecutor tells the jury.

The crowd could easily get out of hand, spill into the oncoming lane, and cause a car to swerve dangerously. The truck carrying the bombs might get tipped over. An ambulance with a mortally ill person might not be able to get through. If one protestor forgot about the little penknife in her pocket, the prosecutor’s case would be made: armed with deadly weapons.

And surely the protest appears to be an effort to intimidate or coerce the government.

For the defense, I can hardly hope to find words as eloquent as Dr. King’s would have been. But I can guess the gist of it. Yes, we broke the law, King would admit. And we are prepared to take the punishment prescribed for blocking a public thoroughfare. But terrorism? No way. We are a disciplined, well-trained group of protestors. We took great care to make sure nothing that we did would harm anyone. If an ambulance came by, we’d move immediately. Otherwise, the only danger was from the police, who might not be as careful as we were. And that woman had no idea the little knife was in her pocket; no intent there.

But even if you find us dangerous to human life, you still have to prove that we were trying to intimidate or coerce the government. I follow the teachings of the great Gandhi, says King. The essence of nonviolence is that we never intend to intimidate or coerce anyone. We only show people their choices. The driver of the bomb truck did not have to stop, just because we were sitting in the road. We were prepared to suffer injury or even to die, though never to kill, in the service of peace.

The driver simply had to make a choice: Will I continue on in a path that is bound to bring injury to others, or will I turn around? We intended only to dramatize the choice that the driver, and the government that hired him, and the taxpayers who pay him, are making at every moment: either go on killing or turn aroundwhich is the literal meaning of the word “repentance.”

You, Mr. Prosecutor, say that it appears that we intended to coerce. Coercion is in the eye of the beholder. Do you think the truck driver must give in to overwhelming force? Then you believe that physical power always prevails, that the stronger force always wins the day. That is precisely why you and people like you go off to war.

We refuse to make war because, we do not share your belief that physical power always prevails. We do not practice violence because we put our faith in a different kind of power -- not physical power over others, but the power of the moral conscience. We know that everyone, at every moment, is free to choose good or evil. No one can make that choice for anyone else. No one can control anyone’s choices, any more than we could control the truck driver’s choice. All we can do is follow our own conscience and then let others follow theirs.

Hogwash, says the prosecutor. You sat in the road to force the driver to stop, to prevent needed weapons from reaching our troops, who are fighting to defend our freedom on foreign shores. That certainly appears to have been your intention. And it is intimidation and coercion.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, having heard the evidence, what say you? Is the defendant, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., guilty or not guilty of the crime of domestic terrorism?

Ira Chernus is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder
E-mail: chernus@spot.colorado.edu


30 posted on 01/16/2002 5:28:33 PM PST by RonDog
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To: mommybain
"He's also supposed to offer an opinion on what MLK would think of his 'dream'.

Maybe, just maybe, MLK would be stunned that so much of life in today's America is being judged precisely by the color of one's skin....and not the content one's character or the affects of one's choices.

Perhaps MLK would question why we are no longer a nation united by the tenets of: the freedom to become, individual responsibility and equality under the rule of law.

IMHO, living in America today, MKL would be confused and very dissappointed.

32 posted on 01/16/2002 5:30:08 PM PST by Right_in_Virginia
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