The Chicago chapter of Veterans For Peace is working to eliminate the military from the lives of youth. MILITARY TEACHES VIOLENCE
Challenging societal norms is difficult. There are enormous pressures to do what has always been done, to do what others are doing and to do what we’re told to do. When it comes to challenging the military, the task intensifies. The traditions, the history, the organiza
tion, the support – all are powerful inducements to “go along”, to “not buck the system”. But challenge we must, for the good of our children, our families, our school system and our city. Violence is the main tool used by the military to resolve conflicts. We’re told to cheer for “shock and awe”. We’re told to wave the flag when we “send in the Marines”. The message is – violence works, it’s the American way. Thus we should not be surprised that violence is pervasive in the U.S. Part of the mission of Veterans For Peace is to abolish war as an instrument of national policy. We feel that this objective can be accomplished via education, especially the education of children. Thus, we have an initiative to educate the community on the social and monetary costs of war, and this includes the social and monetary costs of teaching military methods to our children. The CPS web site states, “CPS Military Schools and JROTC is considered the national leader in the integration of JROTC in urban education”. There are thirty-seven (37) JROTC programs, seven (7) military academies and nine (9) middle school cadet programs operating within CPS. There are over 9,000 children in the program and 96% are non-white. We feel that the talents of these children can be nurtured and developed for better ends. We, as parents, as a school system, as a city, need to challenge the culture of violence. And a place to start is with our children. If we truly want our children to be the best that they can be, then school must be the place to teach them to think, to teach them to question, to teach them to explore . . . . . not march like lemmings and take orders. On behalf of the children and the long run future of this city and this country, stand against the culture of violence; set a national example, . . . . For more info. see www.ChicagoVFP.org and www.NoMilitary.org. Also, please sign the petition to de-militarize: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/779/899/801/tell-rahm-emanuel-de-militarize-cps/
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VFP is a 501(c)3 organization. Our Chapter tax # is: 26-0064830
