Dear WorldNetDaily reader,
It has been some time since I wrote for WorldNetDaily. There are many reasons for my long absence – all of them related to time: other duties as a board member and senior vice president of marketing have kept me busy; care of children, some of whom are home-schooled; business-related business; and, as you can imagine, the birth of our fifth daughter, Grace, last year played havoc with my schedule as well. She's been a busy little girl, too, having flown across the country about 10 times!
All of those excuses remain, but I feel an urgency to make my contribution. I feel compelled to rejoin the debate – and debate we will!
I love to discuss all sorts of topics, my favorites being: the Constitution, limited government, environmentalism, the Social Security rip-off, the immorality and illegality of the income tax and the Federal Reserve, the “right” to abortion, the “science” of evolution, the “separation” of church and state, the role of a free press in a free society and the right to keep and bear arms.
Nice meaty subjects, all of them. However, there is nothing right now that compels me more than the question of the role the state should play in education.
Government-school education. Government-controlled schooling. The very words invite debate, don’t they?
I want to challenge you, my beloved WorldNetDaily readers, to take a stand – with me or against me on this great question. “Great question” you ask? No! Greater than great. The question of government’s role, right or responsibility to form the minds of our children has got to be the most important question facing our nation today. The very soul and character of our society is formed in the classroom. Our future survival as a free, independent, self-governing and prosperous nation is at stake. If my assessment is correct, shouldn’t I – shouldn’t you, dear reader – join the debate and make a stand?
There are many great and noble men and women who are today engaged in the task of elevating this question in the minds of the American people. They are my heroes: Samuel Blumenfeld, Charlotte Iserbyt, John Taylor Gatto, Dennis Cuddy, Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, and of course my husband and partner, Joseph Farah, among many others. They have been out on the front lines documenting the history of our education system and exposing the present state of affairs. Let’s join them!
This is what we are going to do: We are going to debate every aspect of education in America: its history, its philosophy and its methods. We are going to explore the question of purpose and goals. We are going to define our terms, such as, “What is education?” We are going to explore headlines in the news. You can let me know what is going on in your hometown. Let me know what your experiences have been. Dissect my assertions and back your arguments with logic and facts. I would like to highlight some of your responses along with my comments. The topics we address will not necessarily fall in any particular order. We will exhaust some subjects and others we may explore in part and return to later for further comment.
But let me warn you. This is not going to be some touchy-feely, politically correct debate – heaven forbid! I’m not holding back to protect the sensibilities of members of any group or institution. I will, however, ask you not to write me “love letters” calling me vulgar or profane names (you can call me names – just leave out the vulgarity and profanity!).
Another thing: I believe the ultimate outcome of this debate can only be constructive and worthy if we check our prejudices at the door, which may require some soul searching on your part. Let me tell you why: Most of you have attended a school run and controlled by the government. Most of you have also put your children into your local government school system. If so, there may be many fond memories associated with these experiences. You may also have some pride issues to deal with. After all, if we criticize the institution, are we not then criticizing the decision of your parents, your friends and even your own parenting choices? You’re going to have to shed the pride issue or your emotions will color your conclusions too much. Remember, your emotions are ruled by feelings not facts. If your feelings contradict the facts – the facts stand nonetheless.
Let me give you an example: You know someone – most likely a person you love – who has been party to divorce or an abortion. It may be you. Well, you are not unique, nearly all Americans are in those shoes. This does not serve well the debates on the morality and the legal issues concerning those subjects. Better to say, “Divorce is wrong, even though I have had one,” than to say, “Divorce is good, because I have had one.” My point should be clear, forget about your situation, let’s discuss the principles, the facts, the truths. I’ll say right now that I went through the government school system and have tried to educate our children in government schools, privately owned schools and through home-schooling. So there! Please don’t accuse me of being narrow-minded or biased.
With that said, I’ll begin. I start the debate with this declaration: All parents who are married and have no extraordinary circumstances to prevent them, should today remove their children from the government school system – one of you two should stay home with them. All young people who are thinking of marriage should postpone the wedding until it is agreed that if you have children, one of you will stay home to educate your children. All sacrifices of material wealth and convenience should be made to meet this end. All home-schoolers who can should volunteer to help their friends, family and neighbors in meeting this end. All people should devote a portion of their tithe or charitable giving to helping the less fortunate achieve this goal. The wealthy should devote tremendous sums to this end (call me if you need direction).
So there. I’ve said it. Let the games begin!