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Education Title: The Real Purpose of Public Schooling Leave it to the Chinese Communist Party and the New York Times to indirectly teach Americans about public schooling. In an article entitled “The High School Course Beijing Accuses of Radicalizing Hong Kong,” the Times writes:
What the Times and U.S. government officials will never admit is that that is precisely the purpose of public (i.e., government) schooling here in the United States – to produce good, little citizens who are “patriotic,” loyal to the state, defer to their political rulers, and blindly support important decisions made by U.S. officials, especially with respect to foreign affairs. And who can dispute that the public schooling system here in the United States has been just as successful in achieving its goal as Chinese officials have been in mainland China? With its mandatory-attendance laws and government-approved textbooks and curriculum, and its army-lite system of regimentation and control, the U.S. public-school system has produced a nation of people whose love of country is measured by their unwavering and loyal support of the government’s troops, who they never hesitate to thank for their “service,” regardless of what that “service” happens to be. The U.S. phenomenon is best demonstrated by President Trump’s ardent supporters, whose allegiance to Trump is every bit as fierce as allegiance by Chinese people for Xi Jinping. Even when Trump exercises dictatorial power, such as by imposing taxes on the American people without congressional consent, his Trumpsters’ loyalty to their leader remains steadfast and unwavering. That’s because in their minds, by supporting this “great man” who has been elected president, they are demonstrating their love for their country and their gratitude for how free they are, just as Chinese citizens on the mainland do. Even as adults, many Americans continue to dutifully recite the Pledge of Allegiance that they were forced to recite in the state’s educational system. Of course, no one ever asks why our American ancestors lived without a loyalty oath for more than a century. They also are indifferent to the fact that the Pledge was written by a self-avowed socialist. Chinese officials pin the problem with the Hong Kong protesters on the city’s educational system, which, ironically, continues to stress independent thinking, democratic principles, and principles of liberty. That’s what Chinese Communist Party officials are concerned about. They want Hong Kong schools to inculcate the same mindset toward Chinese officials that Trumpsters have toward President Trump. Consider what Xu Luying, a spokeswoman for the Chinese government, said about education, and ask yourself whether her words don’t embody the mindset of many loyal and patriotic citizens here at home:
The problem in all this is that all too many of these loyal and patriotic citizens in both countries are unable to distinguish between their government and their country. They have been inculcated with a mindset that holds that government and country are one and the same. Thus, it stands to reason that when someone takes a stand against the government or refuses to thank the troops for their service, he is automatically considered a bad person, a disloyal person, a Fifth Columnist, a secret spy, and a person who hates his country. But as history has taught us, the real patriots are the ones who, understanding that the government and the country are two separate and distinct entities, are willing to take a stand against their government and in favor of their country. That’s what the Englishmen who signed the Declaration of Independence did. That’s what the Mexican citizens did inside the walls of the Alamo. It’s what the White Rose group did in Germany. And it’s what the protesters in Hong Kong are doing today. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest The purpose of public schooling is to provide every single child with the opportunity to become literate, numerate, learn the history of the nation and become socialized into the system of law and community in which we live, so they can lead productive lives, abide by the law, and be an asset to their families and the society and country. Obviously. Those are all worthy goals, and necessary for the better-functioning of our economy and our country. Nobody should object to public schooling. There's plenty to object to in our wasteful and misdirected efforts at public schooling, but not in the concept itself. Large numbers of people have neither the wherewithal nor the interest in educating their kids, but society as a whole needs for everybody to be educated. So the notion of "It's my kid, and if I say he's gonna grow up to be a droolin' rube then, by God, that's mah RAGHT!" sounds nice, but no, it ain't your "raght"!, because your kid ain't your property, and if that kid isn't educated, he won't be able to provide for himself, and we'll all end up having to provide for him, because we don't let people starve. Therefore, your kid WILL be educated to a standard. You can interfere with that by being an abusive, alcoholic jerk at home, if that's your thing, but if we catch that, we'll take your kid away from you. You can secede from society and live in a shed, but you can't take your kid with you.
#2. To: Deckard (#0) Even as adults, many Americans continue to dutifully recite the Pledge of Allegiance that they were forced to recite in the state’s educational system. They were never "forced" to recite anything. They may have been intimidated into it by teachers and parents but after the mid-Sixties (when corporal punishment was banned in public schools), there was no means to compel a student to pledge and few teachers who wanted any part of such a project. Even in the Sixties, a Jehovah's Witness would routinely reject saying the Pledge. Also, resist the draft, refuse to work in war industries, refuse blood transfusions (??? still don't get that one). We had a girl JW in my class. I always kind of respected how she just sat in her desk when the rest of us stood for the Pledge of Boringness. And Ike inserting "under God" didn't really do the Pledge any favors. He would have known that except he wasn't actually a religious man though he had very religious parents so he thought he was qualified to fake it.
#3. To: Deckard (#0) Consigning kids to the Big Stupid Greedy Government failure factories is child abuse.
#4. To: Tooconservative (#2) Even in the Sixties, a Jehovah's Witness would routinely reject saying the Pledge. Also, resist the draft, refuse to work in war industries, refuse blood transfusions (??? still don't get that one). The don't celebrate birthdays either. Just another reason to write those weirdos off and not answer the door.
#5. To: Hank Rearden (#4) I'm just saying that it is easily demonstrated that certain American customs are not compulsory on grounds of conscience. The Pledge is one of those.
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