Government school indoctrination
If Newsweek represents the average or majority view in America, I find myself at odds with my fellow Americans. This may raise the question of what it really means to be American, which might be better left to another discussion.
This week, Newsweek's website featured an article titled "You Opened A Door." The article is a compilation of letters written by third through fifth grade students at a public school in Harlem, NY. These letters make clear the views of our next generation about the President of this generation. After wading through the feel-good, congratulatory rhetoric, they reveal a disturbing glimpse into the future.
There were 11 letters in all, none of them very lengthy. Six of those raise racial issues, suggesting that race is one of the very most important qualities of our new President in the minds of these children. Maybe someone celebrated the whiteness of the last 43 presidents, but I can't remember reading a single such letter from a school child before. What an irony that the 'successful' quest to overcome racism has resulted in such open and celebrated racism among children. Though Dr. Martin Luther King might have been proud of Mr. Obama for being elected, I'm quite confident he wouldn't be proud of the fact that his race was clearly a deciding factor for many people.
Another recurring theme is the frequency with which these children look to the President (this one, specifically) as their Savior. Two of the 11 letters made non-specific references to 'change' and making the world 'a better place'. That's probably pretty harmless. If fact, maybe it's a good thing. While we might not all agree on what it means to make the world a better place, almost everyone does want that very thing.
The scary part was the eight (out of 11) letters that contained some reference to a specific concern of the children that they expected Mr. Obama to fix. Of those eight, only one addressed only issues that are not directly related to government handouts and the like (the child asked Mr. Obama to stop the violence in our streets). That leaves seven out of 11 children asking for things like money for college, jobs for poor people, supplies for school, help for homeless people, and (I couldn't make this up) lower prices for things in stores. All those things are supposed to be provided by President Obama, implicitly at the expense of... someone else.
In other words, the picture I get from the children at the Alain L. Locke public school in Harlem, NY is that they care most about race and having the government take care of pretty much everyone.
I don't know whether to blame their parents or their teachers for teaching them that Barack Obama is their Savior (whom they're sure to be disappointed in). Or, maybe Newsweek is to blame for creating the demand for government-is-god rhetoric by printing this collection. Maybe most of the rest of America can be blamed for thinking I'm cruel for being so harsh and that this is all just cute and harmless (it's not).
The truth is, none of that should matter. It shouldn't matter that parents, teachers, or children think that way because they shouldn't have the right to impose those views on anyone else. The problem is, it does matter. If someone has swallowed the philosophy that government is god, I can simply advise them that they're wrong and foolish. But (paid) membership in the church of government-is-god has been forced onto me and that's not acceptable. It's not American, it's not polite, and it's not right.
But what am I to do? While they can't force me to believe it (I don't), they have forced me to play along by mandating or prohibiting whatever it is that pleases them (including the payment of tithes, they call taxes) at the point of a gun with impunity. If they're happy with their little game, who am I to take it away from them? But I do not approve of them taking my freedom away from me, or from anyone else who wishes not to subject themselves to their tyrannical rule. Making me pay for their schemes, and forcing me to comply with their harmful laws is inhumane and needs to stop.
America was founded on the very idea that people should be free to do as they please so long as they don't harm others. That philosophy has clearly been abandoned, and it seems nobody cares. Or, almost nobody...
There are a few people left who understand and desire freedom. Those people have tried many things over the years. So far, the most successful and promising is a sort of America 2.0 - the Free State Project. Those who want freedom have decided to work together, in one geographical location (the state of New Hampshire), to secure the blessings of liberty here. Incidentally, those blessings do not include the right to steal education, housing, or groceries.
The New Hampshire Liberty Forum is a good opportunity to check out the Free State Project. It's coming up March 5th through March 8th in Nashua and features an outstanding lineup of speakers, workshops, tours, and socializing with the people who are leading the most successful pro-liberty movement anywhere. Don't miss it! :)
V-
This week, Newsweek's website featured an article titled "You Opened A Door." The article is a compilation of letters written by third through fifth grade students at a public school in Harlem, NY. These letters make clear the views of our next generation about the President of this generation. After wading through the feel-good, congratulatory rhetoric, they reveal a disturbing glimpse into the future.
There were 11 letters in all, none of them very lengthy. Six of those raise racial issues, suggesting that race is one of the very most important qualities of our new President in the minds of these children. Maybe someone celebrated the whiteness of the last 43 presidents, but I can't remember reading a single such letter from a school child before. What an irony that the 'successful' quest to overcome racism has resulted in such open and celebrated racism among children. Though Dr. Martin Luther King might have been proud of Mr. Obama for being elected, I'm quite confident he wouldn't be proud of the fact that his race was clearly a deciding factor for many people.
Another recurring theme is the frequency with which these children look to the President (this one, specifically) as their Savior. Two of the 11 letters made non-specific references to 'change' and making the world 'a better place'. That's probably pretty harmless. If fact, maybe it's a good thing. While we might not all agree on what it means to make the world a better place, almost everyone does want that very thing.
The scary part was the eight (out of 11) letters that contained some reference to a specific concern of the children that they expected Mr. Obama to fix. Of those eight, only one addressed only issues that are not directly related to government handouts and the like (the child asked Mr. Obama to stop the violence in our streets). That leaves seven out of 11 children asking for things like money for college, jobs for poor people, supplies for school, help for homeless people, and (I couldn't make this up) lower prices for things in stores. All those things are supposed to be provided by President Obama, implicitly at the expense of... someone else.
In other words, the picture I get from the children at the Alain L. Locke public school in Harlem, NY is that they care most about race and having the government take care of pretty much everyone.
I don't know whether to blame their parents or their teachers for teaching them that Barack Obama is their Savior (whom they're sure to be disappointed in). Or, maybe Newsweek is to blame for creating the demand for government-is-god rhetoric by printing this collection. Maybe most of the rest of America can be blamed for thinking I'm cruel for being so harsh and that this is all just cute and harmless (it's not).
The truth is, none of that should matter. It shouldn't matter that parents, teachers, or children think that way because they shouldn't have the right to impose those views on anyone else. The problem is, it does matter. If someone has swallowed the philosophy that government is god, I can simply advise them that they're wrong and foolish. But (paid) membership in the church of government-is-god has been forced onto me and that's not acceptable. It's not American, it's not polite, and it's not right.
But what am I to do? While they can't force me to believe it (I don't), they have forced me to play along by mandating or prohibiting whatever it is that pleases them (including the payment of tithes, they call taxes) at the point of a gun with impunity. If they're happy with their little game, who am I to take it away from them? But I do not approve of them taking my freedom away from me, or from anyone else who wishes not to subject themselves to their tyrannical rule. Making me pay for their schemes, and forcing me to comply with their harmful laws is inhumane and needs to stop.
America was founded on the very idea that people should be free to do as they please so long as they don't harm others. That philosophy has clearly been abandoned, and it seems nobody cares. Or, almost nobody...
There are a few people left who understand and desire freedom. Those people have tried many things over the years. So far, the most successful and promising is a sort of America 2.0 - the Free State Project. Those who want freedom have decided to work together, in one geographical location (the state of New Hampshire), to secure the blessings of liberty here. Incidentally, those blessings do not include the right to steal education, housing, or groceries.
The New Hampshire Liberty Forum is a good opportunity to check out the Free State Project. It's coming up March 5th through March 8th in Nashua and features an outstanding lineup of speakers, workshops, tours, and socializing with the people who are leading the most successful pro-liberty movement anywhere. Don't miss it! :)
V-