Highschool Airheads: Let Gov'ment Censor Press

Whatever they teach U.S. kids in school, it's not working.

>> Lindsey Pendergrass trusts the government more than she trusts the press. That's why she doesn't believe that newspapers should be allowed to publish everything without government approval. "The press just wants to print something that people will buy," she says. "The government has to be true to the public."

The Gresham High freshman is not uncommon in her view of the roles of the press and the government. About half the students who responded to a national survey about the First Amendment disagreed that newspapers should be allowed to publish freely without government approval of a story. When The Oregonian mounted an informal survey of readers, about one-third of students disagreed with full freedom of the press — twice the rate of adult readers. ... A significant number of students actually would let government control the content of newspapers.

Felicia Taylor, a senior at Gresham High School, comes from a family with military roots and is angered when critics of the U.S. efforts get highlighted in the press. "I know and recognize that the press does many great things, but at this current time, the bad outweighs the good," she writes. "I believe that the government should be able to have a say in what does and does not get published in newspapers, magazines, on TV. The government should be reinforcing support of people who work for and defend this country, instead of the people who try to bring it down." <<

Comments

[Poustman]

Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in 3 generations, the old saying goes.

[Jesse]

This is similar to the results from a study of high school attitudes toward the First Amendment. My tangential commentary.