Free Congress Foundation's Notable News Now August 16, 2001 The Free Congress Guest Commentary "No More Pencils. No More Books. School is Full of Commie Crooks." By Frederick Meekins The academic year once again stands ready to commence, and along with it the agenda of certain radical educators to foist dangerous and destructive ideologies upon the minds of American school children. Parents and other concerned citizens might be surprised to learn that the latest scholastic threat does not stem directly from the complexities of evolutionary theory or works of sleazy literature, but rather from a threat seemingly a bit more innocuous at first. For many students, part of the excitement of heading back to school comes from the annual ritual of procuring the supplies for the pending term. However, in a number of jurisdictions, liberals have managed to suck the joy out of this tradition as they have most other aspects of contemporary life. No longer will little Johnnie be allowed to march into the first day of class with his new shiny pencil box or glossy notebook tucked happily under his arm. Instead, Johnnie is to supply a pencil box purchased by Mommy and Daddy to be surrendered to credentialed pedagogues to be dispensed with as they see fit. For example, a student could end up bringing a really cool "Star Wars" or "Gundam Wing" notebook only to have it snatched and replaced with one sporting an insignia promoting some asinine leftwing cause such as recycling or nuclear disarmament. This is socialism at its most basic. Proponents of this preposterous proposal point out that not all students possess the financial wherewithal to requisition the nicest school supplies. Frankly, what of it? While it might be unfortunate, I do not bear a governmental or social responsibility to ameliorate the plight of every impoverished waif who crosses the schoolhouse door. Parents are the ones imbued with the charge of providing for the needs of their children. If they cannot, they may have to sacrifice from their own pleasure -- perhaps meaning fewer CD's, body piercings, or nights on the town -- or the child may have to do with less. It must be remembered that those of us who are materially comfortable are not by definition obligated to address every deprivation we come across if we do not feel so led by the stirrings of our conscience. For example, just because the ugly and dimwitted face fewer prospects of marriage does not mean we ought to be compelled to share our spouses with them. At one time charity was seen as a laudable thing because it arose from the convictions of individual character rather than from strong-armed blackballing. There is more to this scheme than the logistics of notebooks and paper. It is an attempt to mold by coercive example in a way dry bookwork never could. No one can doubt that children subject to these annual lessons in confiscatory redistribution will be affected in some way. Having their school supplies hijacked from their tiny arms year after year, many students will be conditioned into perceiving that their property and possessions earned by the sweat of their own toil are not really theirs but instead are beneficences bestowed by prevailing elites. There is no telling where a generation reared on such disguised communalism might end up. In the future, instead of locating and purchasing a dwelling of one's own, one might have to pay a significant fee or tax for the "honor" and "privilege" of being assigned a residence of the government's choice. Or perhaps even worse still, couples producing more than one child might be compelled to donate excess offspring to the infertile desiring a child of their own. Don't dismiss such possibilities as ludicrous. Just a few years ago, it would have seemed ridiculous to suggest that pupils would be denied the ownership of their own school supplies. Parents must act now before their children, and thus the future of this great republic, are lost to a subtle yet nearly total form of bureaucratic control. While teachers are due a certain degree of respect in terms of students behaving themselves, cooperation with and obedience to the decrees of the education system should at times be conditional and provisional. Parents must do everything within their power to see that their children receive the best education possible, yet it must be remembered that the parents are not the ones in school. Thus, they must act when school authorities upset the delicate scholastic equilibrium established between parents, children, and educators. The first thing parents ought to do if at all possible is to remove their offspring from schools -- be they public, private, or parochial -- that undermine the sanctity of private property or the individualized ownership of goods and free their young minds from the clutches of such misguided utopias. Yet this ideal course of action is not always possible. In such instances, parents should not send a single pencil or sheet of notebook paper to class if the supplies are going to be hoarded in community stockpiles, or in the case of my cousin's child who attends Patuxent Elementary in Lusby, Maryland, where parents are required to contribute multiple quantities of a particular item, they should send in no more than what is needed by their own children. For example, if guidelines call for three pencil boxes, only one should be sent in with the child who should be instructed not to surrender the coveted items. Parents should also organize themselves and formally protest these policies in anyway they can, getting out the message to everyone they know and even going so far as to contact elected officials if they feel so led. Communist economies were ground to a screeching halt by workers refusing to break their backs since they could not enjoy the rewards of personal enterprise. By following a similar course of action, hopefully American parents can nip this Bolshevist cancer in the bud before it becomes yet another disease ingrained in the corpse of America's dying system of education. Hillary Clinton popularized the lunacy that is takes a village to raise a child. Now it seems those of us in the village are being forced to pick up the tab as well. Frederick Meekins is a Notable News Now reader. Corrections NNN reader Kenneth Morgan points out that Paul Weyrich, in his August 6th commentary "Easy Voting Brings Low Participation," incorrectly stated that overall voter participation in the 1998 election was not higher compared to previous off-year elections. Morgan notes that 1,752,000 voters cast ballots in the 1998 U.S. Senate race compared to 1,565,000 in the 1994 U.S. Senate race and 1,381,000 in the 1990 gubernatorial race. Also, says Morgan, Senator Russell Feingold(D-WI) defeated his challenger, then-U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann (R), by 37,000 votes, not 30,000 votes. Steve Lilienthal in his August 13th commentary about "The 21st Century's `New Idea' Candidate" misidentified the Democratic nominee for governor. The nominee's correct name is Jim McGreevey. We regret the errors. For media inquiries, contact Steve Lilienthal [EMAIL PROTECTED] For other questions or comments, contact Angie Wheeler [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit Our Website at <http://www.FreeCongress.org> This publication is a service of the Free Congress Research and Education Foundation, Inc. (FCF) and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Free Congress Foundation nor is it an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill. Free Congress Foundation * 717 Second Street, NE * Washington, DC 20002 * 202.546.3000 * Fax: 202.544.2819 Project Manager: Angela Wheeler * Copyright * 2001 Free Congress Foundation - All Rights Reserved.
