A warning label on the U.S. Constitution; critical thinking or manipulation?

We have an opening on the Supreme Court, and there could be several more openings during President-elect Trump’s time in office. So naturally there’s going to be lots of discussion about how potential justices feel about the United States Constitution. You can be sure liberals and conservatives have very different perceptions of the right answers to questions like these:
• How should the Constitution be interpreted?
• How much weight should be given to the history of the Constitution’s framing?
• How much meaning is implicit in the original text?
• Does constitutional “meaning” shift with time, politics, or culture?
• Is the Constitution still relevant?
• Should we be considering a “rewrite” of our Constitution?
It was in this context that I took quick notice of something I read about regarding the polarization of our politics, and how it’s playing out in our education system. I checked into a rumor about a published reprint of The United States Constitution and other founding documents. Allegedly, the book’s publisher introduced our Founding Documents using a disclaimer as to the current relevance of these historic documents—particularly The United States Constitution.
I quickly found the book for sale at Amazon. It was published in 2008 by Wilder Publications, and I was able to access the copyright page where the following “warning/disclaimer” appears:
This book is a product of its time and does not reflect the same values as it would if it were written today. Parents might wish to discuss with their children how views on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and interpersonal relations have changed since this book was written before allowing them to read this classic work.
This seems to imply that our schools and youth should be cautious about taking the original founding documents literally or too seriously. This was my first introduction to what’s become known as “trigger warnings.” A “trigger warning” is a statement intended to alert students to difficult content and is intended to prepare them for approaching that content. The justification is that this makes students aware of things like racism, classism, sexism, privelege and oppression. I “asked around” and was advised that a “trigger warning” is one of those educational tools intended to advance a student’s ability to think critically while examining information and reaching conclusions.
I agree that a great education system must have, as one of it’s building blocks, instruction in critical thinking. And maybe “warnings,” appropriately used would be constructive. However, the use of “trigger warnings” seems to have evolved to even include actions such as protesting against speakers because of concern with the “anticipated” content of those speakers’ presentations. That’s really what those protests are—warnings to potential listeners.
I’m sad this is actually happening in our country. But maybe the popularity of this approach for “teaching” at least partially explains why we are losing our sense of how America came to be, and why. I suggest that “trigger warnings” like this have nothing to do with advancing critical thinking skills.
No, my friends, that’s not it at all. The way they are being used has everything to do with manipulation of student values and priorities!