Time magazine has decided the death of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani via U.S. drone strike has “fueled anxiety” amongst children, prompting the publication to offer up instructions for parents to navigate that “difficult topic” with their kids.
“We realize this is a difficult topic to explain to kids,” the article reads. “TIME for Kids is here to help. The guide below offers talking points for how to answer questions about this tough topic. It’s not intended to be used as a script. It’s meant to arm you with the information you need if you choose to bring up the topic or if kids ask questions about it.”
The article provides background on President Trump’s decision to order the strike, referencing the December 27 rocket strike that killed an American civilian and wounded several other service members and the December 31 attack on the U.S. embassy in Iraq. “Trump says Soleimani ordered attacks on American military and diplomats and was planning attacks against Americans in the Middle East,” the writer, Jaime Joyce, continues. “For this reason, Trump ordered the U.S. military to kill Soleimani. The drone attack took place at an airport in Baghdad, in Iraq. An Iraqi leader was also killed.”
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However, Joyce seems to imply President Trump has falsely or unfairly maligned Soleimani. “President Donald Trump has called Soleimani a terrorist,” Time says in its instruction. By contrast, Joyce identifies Soleimani as a “top military leader in Iran.”
According to conservative pundit Ben Shapiro, however, labeling Soleimani a terrorist is not simply one man’s perception of who the military general was:
Soleimani was unquestionably responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans in Iraq and thousands of others throughout the Middle East — mostly Muslim. His global terror network ran from South America to Europe to Africa to Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq. Soleimani was an unparalleled organizer and a pitiless murderer.
Joyce also writes that President Trump had several options for how to respond to Iran’s actions, and ultimately chose the “most extreme.” Of course, Joyce is not alone in this assessment. The backlash against Trump’s drone strike is not strictly coming from the Left, but from constitutional conservatives such as former U.S. Representative Ron Paul, who questioned whether Soleimani was an “imminent threat” to American citizens.
But the Left’s knee-jerk reaction to jump to Soleimani’s defense and eulogize him as anything other than an evil man is unlikely to entice Americans to open their eyes to America’s misguided and messy foreign policy. Likewise, with all of the terrible things that have been happening in the world, why did Time magazine feel Soleimani’s murder was the one incident to provoke anxiety amongst young people? How about, for example, the recent attacks on the Jewish community in New York? Or the brushfires started by arsonists in Australia, where 500,000 million animals have perished? Isn’t it a bit more realistic to expect children to be concerned with the death of innocent animals than a man who himself has been responsible for the deaths of many others?
And why now? President Obama embraced the U.S. drone program, and was responsible for more than 500 drone strikes, resulting in the deaths of nearly 4,000 people, of which more than 500 were civilians, all without congressional approval.
Questioning acts of war committed unilaterally by the president is worthwhile, but selectively doing it when it fits an agenda is pure hypocrisy.
More importantly, why in the world does the Left feel the need to use children as pawns in its agenda? Why can’t kids just be kids?
Joyce even enlists input from psychologist Paul Coleman, author of Finding Peace When Your Heart Is In Pieces, who suggests several ways for parents to approach the subject of escalating tensions in Iran.
Coleman advises parents, “Search for hidden questions or fears. Ask what else is on their mind about what happened, what their friends say about it, and what their biggest worry is right now.”
Coleman also instructs parents to acknowledge their children’s feelings about the situation, continue to maintain routines, and ultimately ease any fears a child may have by assuring them of their safety.
Of course, the best way to ease a child’s fears about the potential for war is probably to avoid discussing it with them at all. Let them live in their innocent bubble. But that is not something the Left is willing to do.
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