By MARK BLEVINS
Princeton Times
July 18, 2008 10:30 am
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I will be very happy when next Tuesday rolls around. This is when the Mercer County Board of Education members will vote on whether or not to proceed with plans for the proposed PikeView Middle School.
I don’t have a dog in this fight. I’ve attended all the public hearings thus far, and all of the board meetings pertaining to the matter since November 2007. Of all people, I should be as informed as anyone, and I’m still not certain as to what I would do if I were on that board.
I am sick of having to write about it this particular topic, though. It’s one that’s galvanized many in the affected communities. From what I can gather, most of those who’ve attended the public hearings are not in favor of this project. I’m sure the board members will take this into account, as well they should. I do not envy the task they have coming this Tuesday.
One thing that bothers me, though, is the hyperbole that some of those against the project have used. Obviously a new middle school will affect not only students, but the families and area teachers. It’s a vital local issue, but it’s not something that deals with national security or even something that people in Charleston are likely to get upset over.
One person spoke out against the project and said it was like Vietnam during one of the hearings. That’s her opinion, but it might be the biggest stretch I’ve heard in a public forum in some time. The loss of middle school students may affect the communities in a negative way. It will most likely lead to longer bus rides for some students. It won’t involve the military or people getting killed.
We all say things in the heat of an argument at times, but comparing a middle school to a military conflict that lasted for many years just strikes me as wrong headed. Children are important. I know that. Parents want what’s best for their children. I understand that. I used to be a teacher, and if all of the parents of students I taught cared as much as those who’ve spoken out at the hearings, then those children would be much better off.
Still, it’s an insult to those who served and those who died in service of our country during the Vietnam conflict to be compared to a somewhat contentious middle school project. Whether the Vietnam conflict was justified or not is not what I’m arguing, only that hyperbole can seriously weaken an argument.
The use of hyperbole in an argument can be seen many times in our polarized, partisan society. From comparing the current president to Hitler or his staff to Nazi members, to comparing presidential hopeful Barack Obama to a member of a Muslim jihad, hyperbole is the figure of speech you use when your emotions overpower your reason. There are plenty of reasons for people to be against the middle school project. There are reasons to be for it.
There are reasons for people to be against the president. I’m not a fan of him myself, but as far I know, we haven’t been sending people to gas chambers, nor are we killed for speaking out against the government. In Nazi Germany, people didn’t have many of the freedoms that we take for granted, like speaking our minds about the president.
Barack may or may not be a great presidential candidate, but he says he’s a Christian and not a Muslim. I’ll take him at his word.
Neither hyberbolic statement really makes sense, but they make the speaker feel good because he or she is illustrating just how “evil” Bush or Obama is. Try discussing Bush and Obama’s takes on the economy or national security, and I might be more inclined to listen.
Lots of data has been presented in this middle school proposal that supports keeping students in the current school configuration and for putting them in a new 6-8 building. One can generally find data to back up anything one wants to believe.
That’s not to say some data isn’t of a better quality than other data, but after so many public hearings, it all starts to sound the same.
I empathize with the people who are against this project. It does seem that it should have, or at least could have, been handled differently. Members of the board, however, have been kind and receptive for the most part during the hearings, even when some of the speakers were condescending and rude. Emotions run hot when children and change are involved.
Many people have stated strongly, but reasonably, why they agree or disagree with the project. As for myself, I’ll just be glad when the vote is over.
Mark Blevins is a Princeton Times reporter. Contact him at mblevins@ptonline.net.
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