Today I read a striking article about a school in South Carolina.
Apparently, the parents of pupils there are in outraged uproar because they have discovered that their children are being taught the Five Pillars of Islam.
Naturally, these parents are deeply upset because they realise that in their delicate formative stages, these 11-year-olds are being exposed to the tenets of other religions, which will NOT expand their consciousness, but actually distort their thinking.
Cannily, they have realised that creating an awareness of alternatives does NOT facilitate the growth of enquiring minds; it merely prevents them from becoming narrow-minded bigots.
Clearly, from their own extensive knowledge and deep understanding of the Pillars, they have been able to discern that learning about other faiths is NOT a gateway to a tolerance of fellow earth dwellers: it is a sure route to the development of subversive religious radicalism.
The parents are wise to the fact that spreading of such faith based propaganda, in the form of fill-in-the-blank worksheets, will NOT enlighten their offspring to alternative beliefs, but inevitably lead to an abandonment of the tenets of their own faith, in favour of Islamic fundamentalist fanaticism.
In short, these wise people recognise that opening the mind to the beliefs of others does NOT bring understanding, acceptance and a live-and-let-live mindset, but is in fact a short and slippery ride to involvement in terrorist activities that will inevitably strike at the heart of the homeland.
So, you can understand why the parents are righteously upset that they weren’t warned in advance that their loved ones were about to be exposed to dangerous, dissident data.
We can surely all empathise that the poor parents are scandalised that nobody gave them the opportunity to shield innocent minds from the corrupting influences of the Pillars.
It is quite clear that knowing that Muslims believe “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his Prophet”; that Muslims must “Pray five times a day and visit a mosque on Fridays”; that they have to “Give alms to the needy”; “Fast from sunrise to sunset during the month of Ramadan” and “Make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime” is indeed pretty debasing stuff, isn’t it?
Fortunately, these victims have excellent organisations like the Christian Action Network who have leapt to their side to decry the shocking and evil “Islamic indoctrination infiltration of our public schools”.
We may all feel grateful that the Christian Action Network can assuredly be relied upon to help promulgate the fear and prejudice that being ill-informed inevitably breeds.
They will help to ensure that these impressionable young minds remain the justifiable prisoners of hatred and bigotry; because that is working so well for everybody.
And they will be backed by heroic national leaders who wish only to ensure that the new generations of voters are blindly oblivious to, and protected from, learning that might allow them to see that we’re all the same.
Doubtless, well thought out and completely warranted steps will be taken to eradicate any trace of exposure to the aberrant notion that in the final analysis, all religions espouse love and peace.
Perhaps there will now be calls for moves to ensure that the Executive and Legislative bodies create a God-fearing State. (Fear of the right God, that is.)
It seems clear that the country must move forward and set aside that outdated and fundamentally flawed principal, that church and state must be kept separate. After all, there is no evidence that letting them become intertwined causes major problems, is there?
It could even be argued that school curricula nationwide must be tightened to ensure that the good people of the country learn only what the State leadership wishes them to know; because let’s face it, nothing else matters. (North Korea have proved this admirably.)
And in this microcosm, may we look for evidence that, over the course of the next four years, we will finally see the ideological back of that land that stood for ‘liberty and justice for all’?
Can the US finally obliterate its (tarnished) image that so many have loved from afar and aspired to be a part of? What value is there in being seen as a country that welcomes the world’s downtrodden, helpless and misplaced? It has already made such great strides in casting aside that silly idea that it welcomes those looking for a new start where they will be accepted and not judged. Why not go all the way?
How about facilitating a purging of that troublesome Amendment (considered so important by those foolish Founding Fathers, that they mentioned it first): Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Those South Carolina parents are obviously correct and justified in wanting to close down the promulgation of education, knowledge and learning. Who can blame them for being scared of what they don’t understand? Why should they recognise the ignorance in themselves?
We should all join in supporting them and look forward to the time where extremism, intolerance, bigotry and prejudice are given free rein.
Let’s all herald the fact that the place that has inspired us, to the point where we call it 'The Leader of the Free World’, celebrated as the “Land of the Free”, actually means free for White, Straight, Christians.
That’s what everybody wants.
Isn’t it?
Apparently, the parents of pupils there are in outraged uproar because they have discovered that their children are being taught the Five Pillars of Islam.
Naturally, these parents are deeply upset because they realise that in their delicate formative stages, these 11-year-olds are being exposed to the tenets of other religions, which will NOT expand their consciousness, but actually distort their thinking.
Cannily, they have realised that creating an awareness of alternatives does NOT facilitate the growth of enquiring minds; it merely prevents them from becoming narrow-minded bigots.
Clearly, from their own extensive knowledge and deep understanding of the Pillars, they have been able to discern that learning about other faiths is NOT a gateway to a tolerance of fellow earth dwellers: it is a sure route to the development of subversive religious radicalism.
The parents are wise to the fact that spreading of such faith based propaganda, in the form of fill-in-the-blank worksheets, will NOT enlighten their offspring to alternative beliefs, but inevitably lead to an abandonment of the tenets of their own faith, in favour of Islamic fundamentalist fanaticism.
In short, these wise people recognise that opening the mind to the beliefs of others does NOT bring understanding, acceptance and a live-and-let-live mindset, but is in fact a short and slippery ride to involvement in terrorist activities that will inevitably strike at the heart of the homeland.
So, you can understand why the parents are righteously upset that they weren’t warned in advance that their loved ones were about to be exposed to dangerous, dissident data.
We can surely all empathise that the poor parents are scandalised that nobody gave them the opportunity to shield innocent minds from the corrupting influences of the Pillars.
It is quite clear that knowing that Muslims believe “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his Prophet”; that Muslims must “Pray five times a day and visit a mosque on Fridays”; that they have to “Give alms to the needy”; “Fast from sunrise to sunset during the month of Ramadan” and “Make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime” is indeed pretty debasing stuff, isn’t it?
Fortunately, these victims have excellent organisations like the Christian Action Network who have leapt to their side to decry the shocking and evil “Islamic indoctrination infiltration of our public schools”.
We may all feel grateful that the Christian Action Network can assuredly be relied upon to help promulgate the fear and prejudice that being ill-informed inevitably breeds.
They will help to ensure that these impressionable young minds remain the justifiable prisoners of hatred and bigotry; because that is working so well for everybody.
And they will be backed by heroic national leaders who wish only to ensure that the new generations of voters are blindly oblivious to, and protected from, learning that might allow them to see that we’re all the same.
Doubtless, well thought out and completely warranted steps will be taken to eradicate any trace of exposure to the aberrant notion that in the final analysis, all religions espouse love and peace.
Perhaps there will now be calls for moves to ensure that the Executive and Legislative bodies create a God-fearing State. (Fear of the right God, that is.)
It seems clear that the country must move forward and set aside that outdated and fundamentally flawed principal, that church and state must be kept separate. After all, there is no evidence that letting them become intertwined causes major problems, is there?
It could even be argued that school curricula nationwide must be tightened to ensure that the good people of the country learn only what the State leadership wishes them to know; because let’s face it, nothing else matters. (North Korea have proved this admirably.)
And in this microcosm, may we look for evidence that, over the course of the next four years, we will finally see the ideological back of that land that stood for ‘liberty and justice for all’?
Can the US finally obliterate its (tarnished) image that so many have loved from afar and aspired to be a part of? What value is there in being seen as a country that welcomes the world’s downtrodden, helpless and misplaced? It has already made such great strides in casting aside that silly idea that it welcomes those looking for a new start where they will be accepted and not judged. Why not go all the way?
How about facilitating a purging of that troublesome Amendment (considered so important by those foolish Founding Fathers, that they mentioned it first): Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Those South Carolina parents are obviously correct and justified in wanting to close down the promulgation of education, knowledge and learning. Who can blame them for being scared of what they don’t understand? Why should they recognise the ignorance in themselves?
We should all join in supporting them and look forward to the time where extremism, intolerance, bigotry and prejudice are given free rein.
Let’s all herald the fact that the place that has inspired us, to the point where we call it 'The Leader of the Free World’, celebrated as the “Land of the Free”, actually means free for White, Straight, Christians.
That’s what everybody wants.
Isn’t it?