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Rolling Cyber Debate Question for John Hagelin from October 6, 2000
Question:
Youth and school violence continues to pose a serious threat to the safety of our children. The origins of youth violence are at least sevenfold, and I will address these origins at their roots. 1. A school curriculum that fails to develop the student fully, and that breeds frustration. Development of mind and personality is natural to life. Without constant growth, life stagnates, leading to frustration and restlessness. Today's education focuses on specifics of knowledge, but does little to develop the "knower"--the consciousness of the student. As a lifelong educator, I advocate "education for enlightenment"--the full development of mind, body and behavior. I promote curriculum innovations that develop a student's full creative potential and that never leave a student restless or unsatisfied. Students who are deeply satisfied do not resort to desperate acts of violence. 2. An atmosphere of intolerance. Mistreatment and persecution of students by their classmates has been a causative factor in most incidents of school violence. I would support education that expands comprehension and helps overcome intolerant behavior, prejudice, and bigotry born of narrow-mindedness. 3. Violence in the media. The media and entertainment industries have been targeting children with movies, television shows, and products glorifying sex and violence. I will work with parents and teachers to protect our children from inappropriate material. 4. Widespread access to guns. I support child safety locks, strict enforcement of existing gun laws, mandatory background checks at gun shows, waiting periods, and other measures to keep guns out the hands of children and convicted felons. 5. Rampant use of drugs and alcohol. Many acts of school violence are committed under the influence of drugs and alcohol. In addition to promoting an educational system that fully develops and fulfills the student--and thus prevents the desire for drugs--I would also provide effective drug prevention, rehabilitation, and treatment programs to further reduce the use of drugs. 6. Historically high levels of psychosocial stress. According to research, stress levels among students are at an all-time high. Chronic, acute stress leads to an out-of-balance physiology and to impulsive, aggressive and violent behavior. I support proven stress-reduction methods that have been shown to effectively reduce crime and violence born of high levels of societal stress. 7. Urban decline. Our decaying inner cities are breeding grounds for crime. I will revitalize our inner cities, using federally guaranteed loans and targeted capital-gains tax breaks to stimulate capital investment for start-up industries in urban "enterprise zones." I will rebuild our urban infrastructure, and promote community planning that includes ample parks and green spaces and construction of homes and buildings that are human friendly, nontoxic, and in harmony with natural law. The revitalization of our inner cities will remove a major source of the rising socioeconomic and psychosocial stress that is a significant cause of crime. I am the only Presidential candidate offering profound and comprehensive solutions to the problem of school violence--and offering educational innovations that truly satisfy a student's need for growth, graduating fully responsible citizens who know how to fulfill their highest aspirations while promoting the welfare of society as a whole.
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