[...] if citizenship education disappears, then we will end up with a massive divide between those who do understand how our political system works, and how they can contribute to it, and those who have a limited awareness and for whom the political system may be a closed book.That may be all well and good, but one would have more respect for such a position if it weren't seemingly wedded to the assumption that the system we have now is entirely perfect.
For example, if films such as this were shown to kids as a basis for discussion of the very concept of violence-backed, enforced state funding by taxation, we could truly be said to be providing an all-round education on political matters.
Of course, this doesn't only hold true for taxation. One could also query the strength of mandate for coercion and restriction of liberty - in any of tens of thousands of policy areas - afforded to government by an electoral system which is inflexible and reliant on a minority of voters, and which offers very little to those who may object strongly to certain policies.
Unfortunately, any state-funded teacher who dared to raise such ideas would be more likely to be sacked than applauded, one suspects.
