Last year about this time I got married to a lovely woman. Earlier this year I became a father to a lovely little girl. Part of both of these experiences is the continuing knowledge that I have to take more responsibility for my actions (and in-actions) to safeguard my new family and our future.
A Texan And An American
I consider myself a Texan. Always have. I've been living in eastern Europe for almost 4 years now. It was not a permanent move by any means but one of the many adventures that life offered me and I took it. I love my country (America) and love my State (Texas). When people ask "where are you from?", I don't say America, I say Texas. I have always been proud to say so.
My family and I draw near to the point of decides "what and where" is next. One of these options is to return to "my" State.
America's Disaffection with Truth and Fact
Disappointingly, I am very aware that my country has not always been so attached to "The Facts" and "The Truth" of many things. Oh, the political and media of America uses these words truth and facts very often but only to explain things that are neither fact nor truth. I've noticed this tread of denying reality in favor of the political or economic "fashion of the day" for the past decade, most especially during the previous president's terms in office. But this problem isn't just for Presidents; seems that many of my fellow countrymen suffer from the inability to determine truth and fact from misdirection, opinion, desire, fiction, "spin" and outright manipulation (lies.)
A Broader View of Rhetoric, Propaganda and Marketing
And yes, it's not limited to America. These days it's rampant everywhere. Iran and North Korea regular engage in this kind of misdirection, spin and revisionistic behavior as does Turkey, China, Germany, Russia and every country between during the last one hundred years (and longer to be certain.) "The victors write the history", as the saying goes.
However, the "bending the truth" had reached a very, deeply alarming level, boarding firmly in unsubstantiated fiction. Without real Fact and Truth, there can be no maintenance or progression of human societies and culture and will result in civilization decay.
Gifts from Texas Teachers to Me
As an adult, I can choose to believe (never) or ignore (always) lairs, cheats and blow hards. The falsely "religious" are one on this lists of folks I routinely ignore but they aren't the only ones. I was lucky enough to grow up a time where Texas public high school teachers taught students to look at data and information, to think, to research and to discriminate facts from opinions. But, young children (pre-High School) today are not afforded this skill (too young to get the education, training, life experience necessary to discriminate data.) Thus, young children should continue to be be a protected class, especially in "the greatest nation on Earth."
The Horrible Truth Unfolding
So, as I ponder what's next for my family and keeping my responsibilities as a father in mind (namely to protect my child (and wife) from all dangers) I am completely floored, aghast, mortified, horrified and thoroughly revulsed by the pending behaviors by "my" State of Texas and it's pending planned contamination of all American schools:
Texas schools board rewrites US history with lessons promoting God and guns
Additional article here.While this title doesn't convey fullness of my extreme distress, the article describes the promotion of the (Republican version of) God and (Conservative version of) Country, economics and military technology as paramount of importance and attempts to remove the remaining sciences (they've already killed the arts years ago) and replace it with what is akin to "Grim Brother's Fairytales", then extol the "virtues of slavery" (by praising American slave owner's "accomplishments"), minimize the absolutely critical importance of the Separation of Church and State as a foundation on which America is rightly built on, and taint the reputation of anyone not holding compatible Conservative Republican beliefs and views.
My Political Awareness
I know the American political system is (unnecessarily) complex. Mostly, the complexity comes from groups "named one thing" but "doing another" as a matter of ideology.
Generalizing to an extreme degree:
- Republicans say they want a small, weak central government with low taxes but do spend money recklessly without regards to the future, engage in highly dubious acts of global aggression and war ("for American's Safety") resulting in the need strong centralized government to manager the military engine, resulting in need for higher taxes to cover the costs of war, resulting in national economic distress which drives the very poor into the military, resulting in pushing the middle class to the edges of sanity and poverty and resulting finally in boasting the wealthy another notch up the economic ladder. We can also see they historically incite global unrest with divisive responses to other countries. And then, after all that, say (usually indirectly) "God made me do it" or "Its what America needed" and leave the Democrats to raise taxes to clean up the mess they leave behind.
- Democrats say they are for a strong government and strong social programs but give do seem to fund some rather frivolous and outrageously expensive social programs which do not work in the short term nor can exist for the long term (instead of funding those which might actually have a real impact on American's life and culture), and thus drawing the ire of all. They aren't much better than the Republicans but spend most of there "in office and in control" time "with a mop", cleaning up the tax and nation deficit mess that Republican's made during their terms in office. It's a parasitic cycle with these two "parties", each reinforcing the need for the other political party (and no others!) And, when Democrats get bored in office, they do the same things the Republicans do: steal some American tax payer's money and hide it in their freezer, have sex with interns and prostitutes (and then lie about it) and see what they can screw up in someone else's life.
- So called Independents say they want to fix American but can't seem to find a way into the political "two party" process and therefore are not effectually a political party; just a nice idea.
- Liberians say they want be truly conservative government (responsible or conservative spending programs and apparently independent of state sponsored religion) but they do couple themselves to rather fringe ideas that I have not had time to research.
- and there is the unnamed political group I will call "Neo-Conservative Republicans" of which I have the most ideological, philosophic and moral problems with. What they say is they are men and women of God and/or Jesus and live pious and principled lives accordingly. But what they do breaks almost every Jewish Ten Commandment "law" and all of those bad behaviors that cultured societies have accessed as good in the last two or more millennium. They are vile in their hypocrisy, condemn and incite hatred and violence, divide people with mythical conflicts and outrageous proclamations and seem to be trying to incite cultural warfare using intolerance, racial tension and use every dirty trick to bring about the chaos that they will then use to (re)justify their draconian cultural, legislative and finally military responses. I view them as more organized, more radical and prepared version of neo-Nazi skin heads. I think very poorly of this two groups of people.
Rewriting American History: indoctrination and enslavement of children
But now, the Texas neo-conservative movement, elected into the State government, is attacking defenseless children when and where the parent's are not closely watching: in public schools.
They are doing this by rewriting history for public text books as a works of pure fiction, to bring their "God and Guns" ideas into class as part of the lesson plan. By instructing children that Guns, (Neo-Conservative) God and, yes, even slavery is good, they are actively seeking to undermine and destroy the character, the strength and purpose of America which once made America the most cherished country of opportunity - by unapologetically indoctrinating children to be Neo-Conservative Texas Republicans ... as slaves.
"No Child Left ... Unbranded"
To say I am offended is to strongest understate my feelings. I view this attempt to boaster Neo-Conservative Republican membership by "child branding" Texas children (and because of economic conditions, all America children) to be somewhere between the several recent killings of grade school children by the mentally diseased in China and the abduction of native Africans by several countries and forcing them into slavery in early American history. Absolute abomination!
Children: Pawns in Cultural Wars
This neo-conservative text book revision movement claims the need to change history is to "remove liberal corruption" from text books. You can not remove corruption by superseding it! These kind of changes is a subject for academic debate OR private home schooling but not for putting children on the front lines of cultural battle lines. Nor is it not a permissible to mass indoctrination of children to your religious views as a matter of government enforced education!
It is not only inappropriate, it borders on the most base of evil intentions: removing the freedom of truthful, factually, educated choices will result only in leads to polarization and thus of social and cultural slavery.
Why aren't public education text books subject to academic review, scrutiny and approval only by academia before handing to young, impressionable children?
Let it go, If only...
If neo-conservatives were truly "perfect", above all reproach and moving in the right direction (or even making an honest, positive attempt), I could more easily "let this go". but, they are not. They are human beings like everyone else, riddled with the same or similar flaws and insecurities. The difference seems to be they want everyone to come down to there level or "just disappear."
Who's laughing now?!
I believe neo-conservationism got a foothold in American culture because, with all the Neo-Conservative outrageous antics, nasty accusations, nationalistic flag waving and God touting, we though they were amusing, laughable ... for a while. But they are bringing their insanity to the doorsteps of all American homes, all American schools and, by preaching to our children, endanger the very fabric of American goals and pose a real danger to global stability.
(Brief) History of "God's People": Puritans
If you aren't concerned, I submit you should be. Here is why: I believe the Neo-Conservatives have deified the 17th century American Puritans with the primary belief that America was created "by God for Puritans" and thus, by extension, for neo-conservatives. In more historically relevant terms, the Puritans were thrown out of Europe and came to America for "religious freedom" ( but I honestly believe that primarily mostly religious freedom of Europeans, not the Puritans.)
So, answering the question "why were the Puritans thrown out of Europe" and how they behaved when they settled in the Americans should concern you. Puritans believe firmly and passionately in legislating religious beliefs of all citizens and enforcing them punishable and even religious executions. Many competing religious settlers to the Puritan ideology were executed for not being correctly religious, "saying the wrong prayers".
History Aligned to Repeat?
I fear Neo-Conservatives are maneuvering American back the religious culture of the 17th century where anyone not praying the correct pairs or believing in the correct Jesus just the right way could be executed in vile and torturous ways.
History Alive and Well Today
Think religious executions can't or don't happen in the 21st century? Perhaps you should look at the current religious political and cultural models still in play in the older Islamic countries include Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq (and others I am sure.) Hard to swallow that our 17th century America directly mirrors some of these loathsome religious laws and truly gruesome executions, all in the name of God.
Looking Forward, Backwards to The End
Taking the a step further, using Puritans as the cultural model and currently apparent war-mongering of the Republican party in general, more concerning is once a Neo-Conservative Religious America "is purged of the non-faithful" from the "homeland" via deportation, exile, interment and finally execution, these Neo-Conservative can move to the next level of monstrous acts by feeling fully justify attacking other nations of Earth in the name of their God in the name of militant Christianity. America has nuclear weapons and, like Iran, I fear someone will paint a religious symbol on them and, in the name of some god, end humanity's brief existence in ugly, searing pain.
Permission to Stage for Genocide Requested
One of America's past strengths over the conflicted and religious "middle East" is that "we don't throw stones at each other over the name or word of God." We were not a polarized country of haters and fanatics. But that page of our history is about to be turned I fear. Can American and the world afford even for one more moment to humor these neo-conservative miscreants by allowing them to taint school-room history with their false religious fervor and cultural intorance?
We, as Americans, have fallen so very far from any moral and philosophical center that we sit at the edge of joining those who wish to return to live in the darkest of the Dark Ages, steeped purposefully in ignorance and would murder the progress of the whole humanity to simplify their apparently meaningless and empty lives.
Path of Doom
How did we, America, get here? Simple: good people were too polite to tell bad people "no." Good people decided not to stir up problems by asking questions. Good people went home, watched increasingly mindless, meaningless and finally culturally corrupting entertainment and failed to see themselves slowly being cultivated to uncaring, unmoved citizens: Undead voters of apathy ... with children.
I don't think we got here alone, mainly because people are generally good and have to be lead force-ably or subtly into these aforementioned places. We were lead here by the power hungry and the mentally unstable amongst us. And we said nothing, did nothing and continue to do and say nothing.
Mixed Desires for Homecoming
To this I say: would like to come home. But I fear my home has changed into something dark and sinister; lurking shadows to ever so secretively to put the yoke of mental, emotional, economic and spiritual slavery around the necks of my family.
My Child, My Voice, My Movement
I will not throw my child on the fires of idealogical idiocy for the enslavement and amusement of the ignorant, power-hungry, short-sighted, religious hypocrites who are actively divorcing themselves and their weak-minded ilk from reality, insisting that everyone come under their influence and to do the same.
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