Its a terribly sad time here in the "Great State of Texas". As of this school year it is required that ALL school districts implement the bible in their curriculum. That's right, required.
Now I fully understand that the bible means everything to some and I'm fine with that. That's your choice and you have the freedom to practice whatever religion you wish. So long as it abides by local and federal laws. I.e. Separation of church and state, no human sacrifices and so on.
First I'd like to lay down some statistics for the area I live in. Plano, Tx Plano, is roughly 65 percent white folks, most of them your standard christian of some variant. Another 6% are Latino, 4% black. You can group them into some christian group as well. From there the lines get really blurry. Plano being an international hub for the tech industry, brings in people from all over the world. For instance, there are said to be 95 spoken languages in Plano alone. 95! How many of you even knew there was that many languages? Not me. So it goes without saying that there are many different religions that follow those many different cultures.
Most of these families that came here to America have children in school. Out of the 65,000 kids in the Plano ISD, only 60 percent of them are to be considered of christian faith. So what that means is just under 30,000 kids will be forced to be indoctrinated with the christian religion in Plano alone! It's not like these kids are godless or without faith. There is a heavy Muslim presence in this community as well as Hindu, Buddihst and lets not leave out my favorites, the Jews.
"Whats the big deal?" "Jesus Christ saved my life!" "Everyone should be converted to Christ!"
Battle cries from the idiots that surround me. These statements coming from the same people that didn't want their children to hear a black president speak of achieving higher education by staying in school. The same group of people who call a Liberal House and Senate Socialist and Communist, all for wanting to provide these low income Foxophiles with affordable heath coverage. Damn them for wanting to heal the sick!
They're missing the point. America is about freedom. The same freedom to practice their religion is the same freedom they're infringing upon. By forcing students to read from and be graded upon their definition of the christian faith, they are in direct violation of Separation between Church and State laws. With that said, I think that the Supreme Court needs to step in to protect our citizens rights and put a stop to this. Keep in mind this is a public school system I'm speaking of. Funded by federal dollars and subject to the same principles of our Constitution. If they are non-compliant, then they should lose all federal funding.
Harsh punishment? I don't think so. Simply ask yourself this. If your children were required to read from the Koran everyday in school, how would you feel? It's no different. This is not a nation founded on christian fundamentals. It's a nation founded on individual freedoms. Freedom of speech, the right to bare arms, freedom of religion... Freedom of religion is and should always be given the same respect as freedom from religion. In our society it is illegal for a government run institution to force any ideological beliefs upon any citizen. With that in mind...
I'll leave you with this.
The government of the United States is in no sense founded on the Christian Religion.” ~ George Washington
"This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it." ~ John Adams
“I do not find in Christianity one redeeming feature. Religions are all alike – founded upon fables and mythologies.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
“The Bible is not my book, nor Christianity my religion.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
“A just government has no need for the clergy or the church. Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise.” ~ James Madison
"I have seldom met an intelligent person whose views were not narrowed and distorted by religion." ~ James Buchanan
"I do not believe in the divinity of Christ, and there are many other of the postulates of the orthodox creed to which I cannot subscribe." ~ William Howard Taft
Our Founding Fathers.
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Jeff - GREAT post. Dude, we see eye to eye big time. Thanks for blogging about those 30,000 kids. This is a huge deal; it should be on the national news and it's not. Which is a whole other post.
ReplyDeleteJennifer- Thank you. It will gain momentum once the lawsuits set in. The ACLU is dug in and ready for the good fight. Its a stove burner of an issue here but the local politicians wont comment on it. As for seeing eye to eye, I think any rational American faced with an unwanted ideology forced upon them or their children would agree.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, there are far fewer rational Americans than I used to think there were. But still, there are plenty of them and justice will prevail (I hope).
ReplyDeletewhatever....I am storing 2 years of food in my basement. Rapture is upon us. See you on the celestial orb!
ReplyDeleteAny updates from the frontlines on this one Jeff?
ReplyDeleteNo Gabe. No traction has been met locally with any lawsuits. Its in the bowels of the lower circuit courts now. Considering all the judges are locally appointed or elected, I honestly cant see anything happening. Roughly 5 percent of the populace is outraged. Far from enough for a legitimate motion.
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