Going Too Far

Credit Drudge: This article disturbs me on several levels.

Truthfully, there is nothing new about this kind of close-minded bias against even the mention of religion in education. Although not prevalent when I was in high school (mid-70's, if you must know), I first became aware of this bias in the mid-80's when deciding whether to send my son to a public school. Over time it has, of course, gotten worse. While at first trying to at least put on a facade of balance, professional educators have now completely abandoned any such facade and have openly declared war on God in the classroom.

I'm sure, to be completely fair, they are also forbidding mention of Allah, Buddah, Isis, Thor, whatever nature-deity the Pagans are currently worshipping, and Al Franken. Although, in Franken's case, I suspect they use him in discussions regarding "diversity" and "sensitivity."

<RANT>
Now, I strongly defy any educator, with or without initials after his or her name, to justify the teaching of history in any classroom without ever mentioning the religious underpinnings of those who made that history. I'll even give a specific instance. You tell me how you plan to educate our youth about the pilgrims and the Mayflower without ever mentioning the religious ideals that drove them to leave their mother country for an uncharted, largely hostile land. We'll start with just that much.

Anyone who thinks they can do that with any degree of temerity needs to have their PhD revoked. Permanently.

Several years ago, when I was relatively new to the Internet and its multiverse of news lists, chat rooms, and other forms of instant communication, I subscribed to a discussion group that dealt with choral music. Not a few of the subscribers on this list were educators, and music education was a frequent thread. One day, a teacher in the New York City system wrote about some strong-arm tactics that were being employed by a local chapter of (surprise!) the ACLU and, by extension, the school district. She was told to remove certain pieces from a coming concert because their "religious connotations" might "offend certain sensibilities."

As you might expect, the list exploded. "Don't back down!" was the general thread. My contribution was that it is impossible to teach anyone an appreciation of western music (notice I didn't say "country-western" music, which, in my mind, is an oxymoron) without exploring the great corpus of music directly influenced by one church or another. Without the church, much of what we consider "classical" music today would never have been written. Failure to teach serious students of the art form about its religious roots is failing the students. Period. It is also, if I may add, disgraceful conduct on the part of the educators.

The fact is, education administrators live in mortal fear of not being considered "politically correct." Political correctness is a crutch - a device behind which educators and lawyers hide their true ambitions: To make this country completely devoid of religious influences and forward their own humanist agendas. Any educator or lawyer who somehow believes that political correctness is meant only to level the playing field is seriously deluded. Such a thing is not possible. People of faith will never - never - capitulate on this point. God directly assisted in the creation of this nation of, by, and for the people, and we cannot abandon him now to the selfish interests of misguided "experts."

If that makes me a religious extremist, then I plead guilty with pleasure.

To forbid showing students the Declaration of Independence merely because it mentions God is nothing short of treason against the United States of America. May these people never find a home here.
</RANT>

UPDATE: Wizbang wonders in what context the Declaration is being presented. My take: Not the right one. And, by the way guys, it's not just California, either!