“When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary.”
~Thomas Paine
Want to have some good family fun? Ask your kids (or grandchildren as the case may be) about some of the simpler concepts of government and civics that you were taught in school. I thought that history/civics/social studies were watered down when I was in school. My parents took the time to educate me about government and the political circus before the schools tried to feed me their version of “the truth”.
School happened for me in the 60’s and 70’s. Being raised in the central states – government regulated schools were not quite so heavily impacted by the new crop of “liberally educated” teachers pumped out by the colleges. I got a relatively “middle of the road” education on civics and government… and still..I did not quite learn in school what I now see as the real story.
How did this happen to the educational system? There are two simple turns taken in the journey of this republic that have made the difference:
- The government took responsibility for education out of the hands of parents – “The Department of Education” – and parents became complacent; enjoying someone else taking over one of their responsibilities.
- The education of the educators was compromised through a series of synergistic events:
- 2A – A systematic attack by the liberal elite (read that as Marxists) on the education in liberal arts colleges, teachers colleges in particular, who embraced the ideals of Marxism without any REAL understanding of the outcome of their ideology. Fueled by the Cold War between The Soviet Union and The United States of America, ” liberal” education and the tenets of “Liberation Theology”cross pollinated to create something greater than either.
- 2B – The Marxist revolutionary movement, fertilized by the Vietnam War’s anti-war movement, and the crop of radical Marxists who couldn’t have their way immediately. They wisely moved underground, to achieve by stealth and guile, that which would be repugnant to the majority of Americans if they were not “properly indoctrinated” first.
- 2C – The people of the United States of America came to see themselves as “the golden child”, and ceased to take responsibility for themselves..leaving it to the “nanny state” to care for the details of life for them and for their children. Bread and circuses for the “golden citizens”..nothing to see here, just move along.
What can we do now? Educate our children at home. Expose the lies of the leftist progressives who currently control our government. Perhaps you could give your children a good salary for completing their chores; then “tax” them to give their money to other kids who do no chores. Trust me, it won’t take much of this before they see the folly of wealth redistribution to the “have-nots”. They will soon see the “have-nots” as the “do-nothings” who feel entitled to the fruits of someone else’s labor.
Expose your children to some history. Hunt out examples in history that are applicable to current situations in your children’s lives. Make it PERSONAL, the lessons will stick. Hunt out situations in history that apply to todays politics and tell them to your children. Then ask them what of that tidbit of history applies to today…and ask what the “moral of the story” is.
Talk to your children about the Original Intent of the Constitution and the Founding Fathers of this Republic. Ask your kids about the fairness and legality of changing a contract without re-negotiation. Make it personal to them… tell them that their cell phone now is only good for 100 minutes a month and the cost is the same…. turn that into a lesson on changing of contracts.
Remind the children that the Bill of Rights enumerated in our Constitution is there for a reason; Do not forget to let them know that with every right is a responsibility. Most times there is more than one responsibility per “right” – not just the responsibility to exercise that right, but also to defend other peoples exercise of their right.
Keep up the good fight. Help to raise a newly invigorated crop of true citizens of this Republic.
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I have seen this sort of lack of education in my own kids. I agree, it is up to the parents to teach what is not being taught in the schools, and I think it is important to remember this….they ARE being taught, just not what they should be taught. If parents don’t get involved and teach their kids these basic truths, our kids will be going forth into this world with what they learned as a part of who they are and what they do…very bleak future if left to what is being taught now in the schools.