[StBernard] ABC Network executives ban American lapel pins

[Westley Annis]

Westley (and John):

How much of that mindset goes into what we are doing in our educational
system and other situations:  "We can't tell that child he's flunking; it
will hurt his self-esteem."  "We need to let these kids 'walk across the
stage' even though they flunked everything".  From the "empowerment"
sessions to building self-esteem, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Don't get me wrong, in that helping to build a child's self-esteem is good,
but some of this has just gone way over the top!

In the 2 instances I cited:  No and no.  No, you have to let the kid know
he/she is flunking so they can get help/assistance as needed and work on
learning a subject.  No, you can't walk across the stage.  That's meant for
those who accomplished a set of tasks and by a set means of measurement,
they passed.  *You* didn't.  Go back, study and try again.  Then if you
succeed, you will be rewarded (by being allowed to not only "walk across the
stage" but also get your diploma.

The entire "don't hurt their feelings" crap has percolated upwards in our
society.

Apologies for the rant; getting off my soapbox now.

Jim