Parents:  Teach Lessons about Innocence

Barbara Bush, the President's daughter, lives within a stone's throw of my son's dormitory room. That fact was not lost on Yale students during the events in New York and in our capital. Had the Secret Service whisked her away to safety? Could she ever return to the alma mater of her father and her grandfather, or had public life forever changed for the President's family? If she did return to the dorms, could she become a target of a fanatical bomber? Surely these savage masterminds considered every possible way to wreak terror.

At a time when broadcasts warned Americans in the Northeast to stay away from historic places and buildings that house important people, Yale students realized that they could do neither. Clearly, the students stood together as did all Americans. Yet on that infamous Tuesday when Americans wondered about safety so did college students everywhere.

I wonder too. I realize how easy it would be for a terrorist of any nationality to wear a backpack, blend into an international student body and gain entry into college dorms. I wonder about other possibilities. What will life be like for innocent students and innocent citizens of Middle Eastern heritage? Will people be intrusively suspicious of them? Will gangs of thugs increasingly pick on them and violate their rights? Will the innocent in our country suffer simply because they are Moslem or have roots in the Middle East?

Teaching Innocence
I think most parents know how to talk to children about evil. We know that there are people who do bad things, and they must be stopped. In a crisis, families find instruction and comfort in their faith. Children understand in their own way. We know how to make children feel safe. We can tell them that the United States is taking measures to protect all of its citizens.  As the Yale students did, we might quietly ponder in our hearts whether or not anyone is completely safe. Nevertheless, we offer our children our strongest assurances.

These things we do well when our nation is in crisis. But how well will we teach our children about innocence? The vast majority of Middle Easterners are not terrorists. The vast majority of Moslems in the world are not violent. Most are just like us, living the best they can from day to day. Parents worry about feeding their children and providing a future for them. Children complain about chores, play tricks on their brothers and sisters and wait for their parents to return home from work.

One of our parental challenges is to remind our children of all ages -- even our adult children -- that these cells of terrorists live among good and decent people who are not responsible for the savagery. Children need to know that most people living in the Middle East do not hate Americans, even though some learn from their leaders to detest our economic and foreign policies.

As this war continues, Americans may feel more intense outrage. We may seek retribution on more terrorists who may commit more atrocities. We must be careful to protect the innocent as much as possible, the innocent who live inside the United States and the innocent who live outside of our borders.

At home, we are still the great Melting Pot. There are Middle Eastern men and women who have journeyed to America to create better lives, just as most of our ancestors did. Immigrants and foreign students represent every faith and speak every language in the world. With so very few exceptions, they are innocent. We need to tell our children that. We cannot afford to become like the terrorists who are blinded by their hate.

We need to see clearly who our enemies are at home and abroad and who they are not. 

As you talk with your children about this war, also talk with them about innocence. We will not be brought down to the barbaric level of our enemies. We are Americans.