When Will it End?

[thea_447]

This is off the topic of the WBTS but I found it amusing. We've talked about changing the names on buildings, etc. and the pros and cons of it.

Neil speaks of what's good for the goose and what's good for the gander. How about the Declaration of Independence? Is this one that can now be attacked as being offensive because of the references in it to God?

This article appeared in the Mobile Register on Wed., Dec. 1, 2004.

Democrats have a grand opportunity to preserve our nation's history

By Cal Thomas

If Democrats want to get back in the "values" game and change the perception of their party as being full of secularists intent on removing any reference to God from culture and even the history of America, they can start in the government schools. That's where reverent or favorable mentions of God are often prohibited, but using his name as a curse word is protected by the same First Amendment that supposedly prohibits the favorable mention of his name.

Democrats have an ideal case that they could make their own in the San Francisco suburb of Cupertino, where a fifth-grade public school teacher has filed a discrimination lawsuit against his school. The teacher, Steven Williams, says he has been prohibited by the school principal, Patricia Vidmar, from teaching the Declaration of Independence and other founding documents of the United States because they often refer to God. It's one thing to ban contemporary attempts to use the schools to proselytize. It is quite another to censor history. It is a fact beyond dispute that the Founders often referred to God or "Divine Providence" or "The Almighty" in their public lives. Ignoring or censoring such facts presents a false history of our nation and denies students their right to know the truth.

According to Williams' lawsuit, among the other materials rejected by the principal were George Washington's journal, John Adams' diary, Samuel Adams' "The Rights of the Colonists" and William Penn's "The Frame of Government of Pennsylvania."

Democrats could make political hay for their party and do a good deed for public school students by opposing the extension of political correctness to history books and historical documents.

Attempts to expunge references to God, past or present, are not limited to one California school. In Maryland, there is a dispute concerning what may and may not be properly taught in that state's public schools.

The Washington Times carried a Capital News Service (CNS) story Nov. 23 that reported that when teachers instruct about the 17th-century origins of Thanksgiving, they can only say the Pilgrims thanked the Indians and cannot say they also thanked God for their safe journey and for the bounty set before them.

The story quoted Charles Ridgell, the director of curriculum and instruction for St. Mary's County Public Schools (they had better change the county's name to something other than "St. Mary's" to be consistent): "We teach about Thanksgiving from a purely historical perspective, not from a religious perspective." It is impossible to accurately teach about Thanksgiving without including the "religious perspective." The Pilgrims believed they were directed by God to make their journey to America and owed thanks to him for a safe trip and good crops.

Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican, disputes the CNS report. He says the state does not bar teachers from addressing the religious aspects of Thanksgiving. But school administrators from several Maryland counties said that they don't include religious materials in their curriculums.

This is a ready-made issue for Democrats to jump on and save the history of our country. While they're at it, they might also want to look at efforts by certain Islamists to infiltrate public schools with teachings about their religion.

As Daniel Pipes detailed in the Nov. 24 issue of FrontPageMagazine.com, the 15th tip in a list of "18 tips for Imams and Community Leaders" from the Islamic Web site www.SoundVision.com is "Establish a parents' committee to monitor public schools." The committee, Pipes writes, is to "arrange for Muslims to deliver talks about ***** and Muslims" in the schools.

So, while history and faith of our own country is being erased and a spiritual vacuum created, Islamists are rushing to fill that vacuum with the history and faith of another country.

Will Democrats ride to the rescue?

[hoosier]

I really don't want to get into a discussion of current-day partisan politics, but I would like to make this comment.

If there is a perception that all Democrats are secularists intent on removing any reference to God from our culture and history, it is a false perception, and Mr. Thomas knows it. He does no credit to himself by trying to insinuate that such a perception is accurate.

[thea_447]

Partisan politics were not on my mind when I quoted this article. What really bothers me is the fact that there is even the remotest possibility that a teacher is not allowed to teach about the Declaration of Independence on which this country was founded, in a classroom. Any form of censorship in America should be of concern to all of us, not just one political party.




































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Partisan politics were not on my mind when I quoted this article. What concerns me deeply is that a teacher, any teacher, in these United States, is not allowed to teach about the Declaration of Independence, the very essence of our American heritage.

Censorship in any form makes me very nervous and shadows of Hitler's Germany flit through my mind.

People must stand and speak up about this sort of thing. Otherwise we may wake up and not be allowed to speak at all!

[thea_447]

Well I guess you guys thought I was crazy on my last post but something scrambled the message. I had written a paragraph and posted it, but it never appeared. So I posted it again, with a little more substance to it and wallah, when it appeared in my mailbox, it was all in one post. But when you see it on the boards, the second part is waaaaay way down and you have to scroll to see it.

Just wanted to clarify that I haven't gone completely off my rocker...yet. LOL