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| 1920s cartoon, showing man standing at microphone with his mouth wide open and the text "I'M A SMART GUY". (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Would you believe that a good many schools now are starting school before Labor Day? Would you believe that some school districts have already been in session since the end of July? How about some schools are going to a year round schedule or have at least tried this in some form or another?
Whatever happened to summer vacation and all the fun kid things that went with that? Sorry about that, kids. Big brother has decided to screw you out of your childhood and prepare you for a bleak future world where everyone is the same. Make believe and thinking differently is not allowed unless it's the kind of different sanctioned by the "brave new world" of groupthink.
They claim they want our kids to get smart yet they really want to dumb us all down so we can conform to their every whim. It's all about control. Of course, government is in the business of control. That's what laws and regulations are all about. This makes sense to keep an orderly structure to society--to a degree.
Do we need government telling us what we can eat or drink that is beyond the useful action of making sure consumables are safe for us and won't kill us because of contamination or something of that nature? What we decide to ingest and consume should be a matter of personal choice should it not? Same with schools. Teachers should have more control of the classroom under the guidance of local directives, but it makes little sense for the federal government to have an across the board agenda to homogenize society. Rural areas have different concerns that urban areas. A concentration of one cultural group in one area of the country might be a good reason to adapt a school system to that group, but not a reason to impose those cultural needs on every school system.
The old American dream has been corrupted. We missed it by that much! Now the question is can we get it back? The freedom train has been derailed by politically correct elements of society that want to change the story of the United States and alter the meaning of words that tell our story now. The old totalitarianism trick is being pulled on us and anyone who is out of step with what the powers-that-be want is getting the duct tape across the mouth treatment and ostracization by those who are allowed to shout them down.
In my blog post from 2013 Do You Know What Your Children Are Learning in School? I discussed the matter of government control as related to the federal government's intrusion on schools with the Common Core curriculum. This educational initiative will undoubtedly become a big issue in the 2016 presidential race. Common Core certainly has its proponents, but it is also facing vigorous resistance from its opponents. Hopefully, voters will take a closer look at Common Core before continuing to allow it to turn our children into submissive clones. Common Core is more than an educational agenda, it's a political agenda. Certain elements of the ruling forces in this world would like nothing better than to see a degradation of the United States by weakening what this nation represents. Despite what we think about our democracy, we may not actually have as much control over government as we'd like to believe.
There will be many loud voices on all sides of every argument in the year to come. Let's hope the voices on the side of what will be best for this nation will stay strong and remain loud. "You can't move mountains by whispering at them," said chanteuse Pink. Floyd Lawson, the barber and purveyor of homespun observations from The Andy Griffith Show, might have interjected with "I thought Calvin Coolidge said that."
Uh, no Floyd, Pink is attributed to having made that particular statement. However Calvin Coolidge is credited with the following:
"We do not need more intellectual power, we need more moral power. We do not need more knowledge, we need more character. We do not need more government, we need more culture. We do not need more law, we need more religion. We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen.... If the foundation is firm, the superstructure will stand." -Calvin Coolidge
"If in a free republic a great government is the product of a great people, they will look to themselves rather than government for success..." -- Calvin Coolidge
"Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong." -- Calvin Coolidge
"If in a free republic a great government is the product of a great people, they will look to themselves rather than government for success..." -- Calvin Coolidge
"Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong." -- Calvin Coolidge
“Patriotism is easy to understand in America; it means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.”
― Calvin Coolidge
― Calvin Coolidge
Though it wasn't Calvin Coolidge, there is some disagreement on who said the following, but I think it's worth mentioning:
“When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.”---Thomas Jefferson (according to some sources)
Battle of the Bands Coming!
Reading through my above rant you might have gotten some hint of what my next Battle of the Bands song will be. Actually I think I made it so obvious to anyone who knows the song that I'd be very surprised if no one gets it. Let me know in the comments what you think my next song choice will be. My next Battle of the Bands will be combined with my Insecure Writer's Support Group post and will appear on Tuesday September 1st.
Do you think political correctness has gotten out of hand in the United States? Is it important for school kids to have an old-fashioned summer vacation? Did you recognize what classic television comedy show I was alluding to in my post (other than The Andy Griffith Show)?
Reading through my above rant you might have gotten some hint of what my next Battle of the Bands song will be. Actually I think I made it so obvious to anyone who knows the song that I'd be very surprised if no one gets it. Let me know in the comments what you think my next song choice will be. My next Battle of the Bands will be combined with my Insecure Writer's Support Group post and will appear on Tuesday September 1st.
Do you think political correctness has gotten out of hand in the United States? Is it important for school kids to have an old-fashioned summer vacation? Did you recognize what classic television comedy show I was alluding to in my post (other than The Andy Griffith Show)?
