An Unspeakable Day in American History

How would an educator or anyone explain the chaos and riots that transpired at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C on January 6, 2021.? I felt disgusted and speechless in terms of America’s complex and long history of racial divide or white supremacy upheld by certain groups of people (Trump supporters manifest such divide or prejudice via violence and utter disregard of our Constitution by taking over the building in a seditious attempt). While I was appalled and saddened in taciturnity, my students were calling the incident “Civil War II.” Judging from the bloodshed, broken windows, terrorist symbols left inside the building, and the evidence of ammunition and explosive devices brought to our democracy’s sacred ground, I recognize my students were not very far from a fair description of the reality.

A teaching opportunity certainly exists at this moment. No matter where one’s political view or belief resides, lawlessness or closed-mindedness is proven to be harmful and backwards. Teachable moments, however, become ever challenging for educators across the country, when morality and honesty is lacking at our country’s top leadership level. How would you teach the young that bullying is a serious offense and could lead to expulsion when our political leaders are the biggest bullies of all, distorting and twisting civil processes to suit their own agenda? The manipulation of our democratic practices leading to the insurrection implies an opposing set of principles and values we preach to our students: simple kindness and respect, tolerance, civility, honesty, accountability, democratic ethics, and national security, among others.

If we continue to fail to deliver and show that words and actions have consequences, we will lose our young generations to an abyss of confusion and trauma even further. There was no justification for the actions of the Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol to disrupt the certification process of Biden’s election to presidency. Let’s look to the basic skill of processing anger and negative emotion through peaceful reflections and self-growth. Let’s be the adults we should be and demonstrate how grown-ups should behave and bear responsibilities for their own words/actions. The past couple of years have been unprecedently difficult for everyone due to the Covid pandemic -- let’s stop adding to the hardships. Let’s try building back a safe society that future generations can inherit and live in. We may be as confused as the young now. We might not have all the answers -- we had better start seeking and stand up for our democracy.

美国 历史上不可言喻的一天

对于2021 年 1 月 6 日于华盛顿特区的美国国会大厦所发生的 一场 混乱和 骚动，身为人师者或任何人该如何作解释？美国某些群体长久以来所坚持的种族偏见或白人至高无上的主义 ，令我感到厌恶及无言以对（支持川普的人通过暴力表现出了此种偏见或信念 ，并使用煽动性的言行和暴力强硬进入国会大夏 ，完全无视美国的民主宪法。）。当 我 沉默地表现内心震惊、沉重和 悲伤时 ，我的学生们却已将这一 事件称为 "第二 次内战"。 从此事件所呈现的残暴、毁害，以及留在国会大夏内的恐怖分子标志和弹药、爆炸装置的证据 来看 ，我认为学生们的想法与实际情况相距 不远。

此事件提供了一个可贵的教学机会。不论个人的政治 观点或信仰为何 ，违法的暴力行为和狭隘的偏见皆是有害 和落后的。然而，在我们国家最高领导阶层缺乏道德和正义的情况下，此刻对于全国的​​教育工作者来说实具挑战性。当我们的政治领导人采用欺凌强势手段来压制他人时 -- 当他们扭曲民事程序来迎合本身的政治议程 时 ，我们该如何告诉年轻人：“欺凌”是严重的罪行，并可能会导致退学驱逐？操纵民主程序并导致叛乱意味着与我们向学生宣扬的相反原则和价值观 ： 简单的友善和尊重、宽容、文明、诚实 、负责任 ，以及民道德和国家安全等。

如果我们持续堕落，无法表明言行必将产生后果的原则 ，我们将使年轻的一代更加陷入混乱和创伤的深渊。支持川普者冲进美国国会、捣乱拜登当选为总统的认证过程 的行动是绝对无法解说或原谅的。让我们通过和平的思考 和自我成长来处理愤怒和负面情绪的基本技巧来就事论事。让我们成为真正的成年人 ，展示如何表现己见并为自己的言行举止承担责任。由于新型冠状病毒大流行 ，过去 一两年对每个 人来说皆具有前所未有的艰辛和困难 -- 让我们别再增加 困境。让我们尝试建立一个安全的社会 ， 让后代可以继承和和平生活。我们此时可能和年轻人一样困惑。我们可能没有所有的答案 -- 那么就让我们即刻寻求解答并实现民主吧！