> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.readtangle.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Louder than Words - URL: https://www.readtangle.com/otherposts/louder-than-words/ - Published: 2026-09-25T19:08:56.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-25T19:08:56.000Z - Description: What are we teaching our children? - Author: Tangle Staff - Tags: reader-essay, #hide *By Alden S. Blodget* --- In autumn, several years ago, two students were discovered smoking in a dorm room of the school where I was an administrator and teacher. Because safety is always a serious concern, especially on a campus of old wooden buildings, for as long as anyone can remember, the school has made the penalty very tough: Smoke or have any open flame in the dormitories, and you are expelled from school. The punishment hardly seems unreasonable when weighed against the fire that might result from a carelessly discarded cigarette. So the two students were expelled. Neither student denied smoking. The parents of one of the students hired a lawyer, who got a judge to provide an injunction by declaring that the school’s rule was “arbitrary and capricious.” That student returned to campus. Smart lawyer: He knew that by the time the case was settled, the child would have graduated. Smart parents: By god, they knew their rights. But the other parents knew what *was right*. They knew their child had made a stupid and dangerous mistake. They understood the importance of their child’s knowing that actions have consequences and that people must be responsible for their actions. And they chose a moral route rather than a legal one. How will children think about rules when they learn that, even if they know they were wrong, they can avoid the consequences — especially in a world where finding a way to circumvent the rules has become dominant? David M. Crane of the [*JURIST News*](https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2024/10/the-erosion-of-respect-for-the-rule-of-law-in-america/?ref=readtangle.com) writes, “The rule of law has long been considered a cornerstone of American democracy, safeguarding individual rights, ensuring justice, and regulating the conduct of public officials within a framework of established laws. However, a troubling trend has emerged in recent years — a significant erosion of respect for this foundational principle.” It’s hardly surprising that the [American Psychological Association](https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2019/06/seniors-trust-law-enforcement?ref=readtangle.com#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20study%20published%20in%20the,system%2A%2A%20Equal%20negativity%20from%202015%20to%202017) has reported that this erosion affects young people: “From 2015 to 2017 . . . there was a critical shift as teens perceived both law enforcement and the justice system equally negatively.” Like most of us, young people are not Constitutional scholars. To scholars, a student’s view of the laws embedded in our Constitution will seem naive and simplistic. After all, most history and civics courses in K–12 schools offer little more than an introductory overview, so it’s not surprising that students (like a lot of us) take these laws at face value: The government cannot prevent people from speaking freely or prevent the press from investigating and reporting the news. People cannot be targeted, jailed, or deported just because the government doesn’t like them. Congress, not the president or the courts, has the power of the purse, the power to declare war, and the power to make laws. People cannot use their position or offices to enrich themselves; they cannot solicit or take bribes. And fundamental to a society built on laws is the rule that no one is above the law. Yet it has become impossible to listen to or read the daily news without hearing reports of what are decried as illegal violations of all these laws. Where’s the accountability? CEOs avoid criminal prosecution by making deals that shift responsibility to their corporations, which pay a fine or declare bankruptcy. Throughout American history, you can [find examples](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/boston-alderman-reelected-while-jail-fraud/?ref=readtangle.com) of convicted criminals holding positions of power and pardoning other convicted criminals. How could people, especially children, not get the impression that laws are burdens to overcome when various leaders flaunt the laws without any fear of consequences? Perception matters, especially to the developing minds of young people. Our rules and laws are not “capricious and arbitrary”; rather, the judicial decisions increasingly appear to give the rich and powerful free rein. Perhaps the saddest decision for those of us who work with young people was the Supreme Court declaring that presidents have absolute immunity to do whatever they want as long as someone can argue their actions were “official.” What are we teaching our children? Various studies of student behavior, like the ones conducted by the [National Education Association](https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/survey-says-were-crisis-point?ref=readtangle.com), have shown that student behavior problems continue to grow and have reached a “crisis point.” Although the causes are many, Dr. Pamela Rutledge writes in [*Psychology Today*](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/positively-media/202604/do-you-want-your-kids-arguing-like-a-politician?ref=readtangle.com) about the link between the political climate and child behavior: > Kids see politics and social media as tutorials on how power, attention, and winning work. > > Repeated exposure to hostile, winner-take-all conflict is tied to more bullying and less empathy. > > Public behavior that rewards personal attacks can impact how kids handle relationship conflict. Little wonder that so many young people become contemptuous of rules, laws, and regulations that we get song lyrics like Mac Miller’s: “Get money, \[bleep\] the system, break the law, break the law.” Emily, a high school senior, told me, “If there is no way to enforce the rule or no agency willing to enact consequences on individuals who break the rule, the rule is no longer a rule in my mind. The rule becomes a suggestion… If the agency supposed to enforce the rule fails to do this, I lose respect for the agency.” She went on to add, “There is also a trend I noticed among my friends that leaders are not respected. To me, respect is earned, not inherited through arbitrary titles which are often the result of corruption and nepotism.” Our Constitution is as flammable as an old wooden building and is protected only by respect for the rule of law that is passed from generation to generation. We should worry about what we are passing to Emily’s generation. --- *Alden Blodget is a retired high school teacher and administrator. After retiring, he volunteered for eight years as a guardian ad litem working in Rutland County (VT) family and criminal courts with abused and delinquent children. Currently, he tutors students who cannot afford the usual fee tutors charge.*