Miseducation by American Conservatives

When we were getting ready to graduate from high school, the Class of 2000 was told repeatedly that we were the future of America; that we, as the first graduating class of the new century were tasked with making sure that America's future stayed bright.

Sadly, we have failed.  Not, however, as a result of our lack of effort to better the world...that would be too easy.  We have failed due to our complacency about how future generations are being educated.

I only occasionally tune into television show, and just tonight caught up on last night's Daily Show, when I ran across this horrifying interview:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-april-2-2012/tucson-s-mexican-american-studies-ban

Granted, this video is meant as satire.  Unfortunately...the school board member being interviewed isn't being satirical.  Local news coverage in Tucson, today, covered the "fallout" from last night's feature:

So, without being crass, the only question I can ask is, "Are these people for fucking real?"

No.  Really.  Are these people for fucking real?

Sadly, this isn't the only example in America of conservatives taking control of the education vehicle and promptly driving it into the intellectual ditch.  

In 2010, Texas conservatives fundamentally rewrote American history books to focus on the free market principals espoused by our Founding Fathers, averring that they were all devout Christians, and also suggesting that the Venona Papers justified the Communist witch hunts at the hands of Joseph McCarthy.

This issue caused such a furor, but ultimately, the Conservatives won...because my generation was complacent, and let them win.  

In 2011, education was put further under attack in Tennessee with their "Don't Say Gay" legislation, wherein legislators mandated that you just can't even talk about gay people, at all.  In other states, teachers of science will now be required, again by law, to include Creationism in their curricula.  

There's a problem with that - Creationism is not science.  It's not a hypothesis that can be tested, repeated, or falsified.  It is not science.  I'm sorry if you believe it, but it's just not fucking science.  If you want to believe that God created the world 6,000 or so years ago, that's fine, but don't fool yourself into thinking that your beliefs belongs in a science class.  They do not.

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I know these issues are hard to talk about without sounding like you're attacking someone, but frankly, I don't give a fuck.  Education is not something that is "subject to interpretation."  I don't care if you're a Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, or Reaganite, historical facts and scientific curricula are not subjects that you fuck around with just because you disagree with how your beliefs and feelings are being portrayed.  

This isn't "discrimination;" the feelings of white Christian males are not being "marginalized."  If you don't like the way your children are being educated in public schools, pony up the fucking cash to send them to Christian school, where they can learn how the earth is flat, we live in a geocentric universe, and the sun revolves around God.  Or better yet, just homeschool your little snots so the rest of the population doesn't have to deal with your pathetic nonsense.

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