Texas is the second largest state in the union. This means we are the second largest customer to text book publishers. Because of this, Texas' education standards largely set the precedent for the entire country. The Texas School Board recently agreed to implement a revised curriculum. They are ultimately injecting far-right and fundamentalist propaganda into history books.
Joseph McCarthy was a US Senator who had a large part in fueling cold war hysteria. In fact, the term McCarthyism was named after him. Wikipedia defines McCarthyism as the "politically motivated practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence". In short, he started the trend of accusing political opponents of being Soviet agents. Thousands of U.S. citizens (mostly workers' union activists, people in the entertainment industry, and academics) were accused of being communist. Many people lost their jobs. Many people were "blacklisted". A lot of people had a very bad time because of cold war hysteria, and McCarthy is largely to blame. The Texas School Board decided that we should portray their Republican friend McCarthy in a more positive light.
The Texas School board has decided that the word "capitalism" should be eliminated from text books. They are to replace it with the term "free enterprise system". They think "capitalism" has a negative connotation. Cynthia Dunbar said "Let’s face it, capitalism does have a negative connotation. You know, capitalist pig."
Doublespeak is a term for changing words to bypass unwanted meaning. Instead of "firing" someone, we "lay off" employees, or "downsize" a company. Our culture is full of "political correctness" and euphemisms. Doublespeak plays a central role in the novel Nineteen Eighty-four. The Texas School Board has taken us one step closer to that type of dystopic society. For what reason? They say this makes text books more "pro-American," but I strongly disagree. Changing the name of our economic system to shake off the sting of a anti-capitalist slur once used by Soviets is very anti-American.
Thomas Jefferson is widely regarded as the most influential philosopher in United States History. He played a key role in the founding of the country. He WROTE the Declaration of Independence. He coined the term "separation of church and state" (which is probably why the conservatives in the Texas School Board don't like him). The Texas School Board has decided to take him off the list of people whose philosophy inspired the American Revolution. In his place, they now include Catholic philosopher (from the 11th century, a completely different era), and John Calvin, another religious figure. Calvin IS an important figure, who was set the stage for religious freedom in the United States, but he doesn't even come close to being able to take even half of Jefferson's place.
They banned classic childrens' book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdHCYgO9zh8) because author Bill Martin's political views. Banning books is overtly anti-American. Especially when it's for such a ridiculous reason. Brown Bear, Brown Bear is absolutely no threat to the children of Texas.
What does all of this mean? Well, it means that if things don't change soon, we're headed to a very authoritarian-type state. We're headed to society where 51% of people can take away the rights of 49%, which is what the Founding Fathers were afraid of. Propaganda should not be included in curriculum. This is not a unilateral problem. Democrats are pushing just as much propaganda to our youth. Things need to change. We need to become more active. Go to school board and city council meetings. Write to your representative. Even if your opinion is unpopular and no one wants to hear it, make your voice heard before we get to the point where people are being sent to jail for thought crimes.
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
- Mark Twain
5 years ago
nice article, I agree
ReplyDeleteThis commentary is in response to an article on Texas Insider blog found here. Ms. Driver does a good job of supplying the reader with lots of information, but some links as to where the information came from would be nice. She gave lots of information on the recent Texas State Board of Education’s recent March meetings where a lot of controversy followed.
ReplyDeleteOne suggestion I would give is not to cite Wikipedia as a source. Who knows who actually put the information on that is posted on that site. Ms. Driver also states that because Texas is the second biggest state, we are second largest consumer of textbooks and that has an influence on the rest of the country. While part of that statement is correct, the biggest reason Texas much influence on the rest of the country’s textbooks is because we are the second biggest producer of textbooks.
Overall, I think Ms. Driver done a good job. She explained her points well. Her final paragraph is great. She encourages everyone to get out and state their opinions, even if they aren’t popular. She states that it isn’t just a one-sided problem either and what might happen if some of this type of behavior doesn’t cease. She ends with an absolute gem of a quote by Mark Twain.
On a side note, it took the TSBOE 17 days to answer an email of when the minutes from the meeting discussed in this article would be available. The answer I got is they will be available on May 21, 2010 after they are approved by the board. This leaves me shaking my head and asking myself “what?”