In 1915, a mother’s protest against funneling children into war became the theme of a new American song, ‘I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier.’ Although the ballad attained great popularity, not everyone liked it. Theodore Roosevelt, a leading militarist of the era, retorted that the proper place for such women was ‘in a harem — and not in the United States.’
Roosevelt would be happy to learn that, a century later, preparing children for war continues unabated. That’s certainly the case in today’s Russia, where thousands of government-funded clubs are producing what is called ‘military-patriotic education’ for children. Accepting both boys and girls, these clubs teach them military exercises, some of which employ heavy military equipment. There, children as young as five years of age spend evenings learning how to fight and use military weapons.
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How long will we continue raising our children to be soldiers?