Texas Baptist Standard: Panelists See Public Schools as Key to the Soul of Democracy
Elections have consequences, even at the school board level. And I would add, especially at the school board and municipal level. That's where groups under the larger umbrella of right wing extremism are making inroads to plan their ideology in the minds of students and subvert American democracy, making it into what they want, which is some kind of Christian nationalist dictatorship. They advocate censorship, removal of the academic freedom of teachers and the use of schools to indoctrinate students in what they call "American Exceptionalism," which is white supremacy, not so cleverly disguised.
These right wing extremists have set up local organizations to encourage their people to run for school boards whether they have an interest in the school or not, city councils, county boards of supervisors, from which they can control the local policies and get their agenda in place. They're planting their extremism into the school curriculum, especially in states where the departments of education will let them do it. They've lost the younger generations, so this is their attempt at trying to get their ideology in place.
Education is so important to the preservation of our democracy. The panelists in the article that is linked above, from the Texas Baptist Standard, went so far as to declare that public schools are the "soul of democracy." The panel, sponsored by Pastors for Texas Children, convened their discussion in the Southlake school district, an affluent suburb of Ft. Worth, where the school board was the target of extremist right wing activists, underwritten by wealthy contributors who are funding school board takeovers all over the country.
Get Actively Involved in School Board Meetings
One of the recommendations of the panel, whose aim is to prevent school boards from being taken over by extremists, is to organize groups of people committed to being at every school board meeting, to be a presence defending the free speech and academic freedom of teachers as well as the rights of students. Finding out about school board policies and then holding trustees accountable to follow them is one of the ways people can protect their school district from extremism driven by money.
The panel also pointed to various terms being used to disguise voucher schemes to divert money away from public education into private schools, particularly religious based schools. Regardless of the terms used to describe these plans, they are intended to take money out of public education to promote political and religious agendas. And that undermines the curriculum and instruction, as well as the commitment to democratic values that is an integral part of public school systems. Many Charter schools, which also take money from public education, are also agenda driven by anti-democratic extremism.
The nature of this panel, involving Evangelical Christians and groups associated with them, underlines the fact that right wing extremism, which is promoting anti-democratic, anti-American values, operates under an aberrant philosophy of education, political in nature, but aimed at using and distorting Christian doctrine and theology and bending it to their purposes. It must be rejected by pastors and church leaders.
All Elections are Important
This movement underlines the fact, especially for young Democrats, that every election is important, and that going to cast a ballot every time there is an opportunity is the only way to preserve democracy. We can't just show up every four years, support a Presidential candidate, and expect that whoever that person is will take care of the rest of this mess for us. The people who sit on your local school board have a lot of power and control over what is taught in the classroom and how the school is operated. As we speak, school boards in many places are removing objectives which teach about racial equality and discrimination and are silencing voices promoting freedom.
The midterm election, specifically a few congressional districts in heavily Democratic New York, show just how important that is. In the last school board election in the school district where I live, the two new board members who were elected won by 15 and 17 votes respectively, out of just 170 votes cast. Fortunately, they are advocates of freedom and democracy, and the extremist candidates underwritten by Magats, both lost. But that was close. I don't have a child in the school district, but I do own property and pay taxes and I ought to have a voice in who sits in those seats and runs a school I help pay for.
But the long-range impact is much more important. Eliminating any part of the curriculum that dealt with social issues from an equal perspective was a high priority of the opposition, with removal of teaching about CRT at the top of the list. And if you're not familiar with this issue, "CRT" is not what gets removed, all anti-racist instruction does. Go back and reference one David Barton if you want to see what these people have in mind for the public school system.
Education is the Key to the Preservation of Democracy
One of the founding principles of compulsory public education in the United States is the preservation of democracy through an educated electorate. Since power in a democracy is derived from the people, having an electorate with basic critical thinking skills and the kind of discernment that comes from being able to read, comprehend and participate in the free exchange of ideas is supposed to result in votes cast for candidates who represent various positions on issues of importance to the people.
That kind of environment, contrary to being a threat to any perspective, should be fertile ground for the free exchange of ideas. So in order to protect our individual freedoms, guaranteed by the constitution, which includes everything about who we are, we need to protect our schools. And the best way to do that is to vote in school board elections and elect board members who understand this concept.
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