Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Digging Deeper - Part 1

Today's post is the beginning of a 5-part series, in which we'll discuss a few topics of immediate relevance. Throughout this series we'll talk about things like education, religion, economics, government, and wrap it up with the Will of The People. As you are all aware, these are trying and transformational times, and whether you realize it or not, we are writing history with our decisions as a nation. I will include links to particularly intriguing sites when I feel it is appropriate, however this is not so much a policy debate as a philosophical look at where we are, what is happening, what our choices are, and what the outcomes may be. Let's get started!

Education is first on our list of topics, and for good reason. Education is essential to human and societal development. Everything we know we have been taught, at one point or another, whether by someone else or by ourselves. Personally, I choose to educate myself, according to the things I want and feel I need to know. My reasoning behind this is three-fold: I can determine what materials I educate myself with (as not everything you read is the truth), I can learn at my own pace according to my own desires, and it is a LOT less expensive than college! Do I think college has merits? Absolutely! College is a great place to learn responsibility, meet new people, and broaden one's horizons. Do I think college has downfalls? Absolutely! Take for example the curriculum. Who determines what you hear and learn in college, or any public school for that matter? For the most part it is the NEA and other (liberal) teacher's organizations, and also the increasing role our government plays in, should we say, indoctrination of the "educated".

The youth in school today are subject to a very different environment than most of us were. Rather than teaching the values of hard work, the positive impact of the free-market and its advocates, and the incredible history of the founding of our great nation and the wonderful things that have happened as a result, things like communism, socialism, and entitlement are taught instead. In the FCAT this past year, there was a story of a community garden on private property, which was shut down because the land owner wanted to use his vacant lot to build on. The students were asked what the town (read: government) should do: allow the farmers to continue growing their garden because it is good for the community, or allow the land owner to use the property as he sees fit? When broken down to the bare basics (or 'brass tacks' as that funny Geico Gecko says) this is a question of communism versus capitalism and the fight over private property rights. In our society governed by the Constitution, the supreme law of our nation, the land owner should be allowed to use his property as he chooses, because he owns it and therefore has rights. The town should not have ever been involved, because technically the farmers were trespassing, and as such had no rights to use the land in the first place.

We need to be very aware of what we send through our brain's digestive tract, just as we need to be aware of what we eat in order to maintain a healthy body. If you are a parent, it is YOUR responsibility to teach your child and not anyone else's. The public school systems have become parent, baby-sitter, and mentor. This is wholly unacceptable. If we expect our traditions and way of life to be carried on in the future we must pass it on to the youth in the present. Personal responsibility, a strong work ethic, and the knowledge that no one owes you anything, save what you make or build for yourself; these will be key in coming years for the preservation of our society. Trust your instincts when it comes to matters of knowledge, for it is one of the most easily manufactured falsehoods. To paraphrase Mark Twain: It's not what you don't know that can come back to bite you, it's what you know for sure that ain't true.

If we do nothing, there are a few various outcomes, some more probable than others. The most obvious is the degradation of our society and traditions. There are forces at work that would like nothing more than to see the end of free-market capitalism and the fall of America in favor of a global autocracy. The same forces acting in our White House and Congress are the same forces acting in our schools. I'll leave you to your imagination from here, I think you get the point I'm trying to get across. Stay tuned! There's more to come. Let's get some comment conversations going, eh? The more feedback I get, the more interesting I'll try to make this! :)

1 comment:

  1. More and more I wish I had the opportunity to stay home and homeschool. As I read blogs of other homeschooling families I am envious of the ability to spend time with your family members and to be in charge of the curriculum.

    The new "unschooling" format where you make each moment a teaching opportunity rather than sitting at the kitchen table and scheduling 35 minutes to a subject sounds like such a perfect way to teach your kids to be able to deal with all that life is going to dish out.

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