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The Pendulum SwingsSep 19 '00 Write an essay on this topic.Some folks have been calling for legislation to “govern” home schoolers. My hope is that their words were not thought through, if they have thought them through to their logical consequences and still posted them for all to see then God help us! They have suggested that a state approved curriculum be enforced and that each family be subjected to monthly unannounced visitations to ensure there is no abuse or neglect. The logical consequence to legislation like this would be that all families be inspected when their children are not attending school. Since all children, public or home schooled, are tucked away at home until about the age of 5 it would seem necessary for these parents to have the same visitation. After all, 5 years is a long time with no school staff to keep tabs on these parents. Lets not forget the 3 months of summer vacation, shouldn’t someone be monitoring all families during this time? When these kinds of statements are thought out to their logical conclusion one can begin to see how frightening they really are. The Pendulum Swings.... Human beings are, by design, prone to accept the norms of their age to the point of persuasion. They do not live long enough to see how the times change, they cannot see the political climate change, evolve and change back again other than what is included in history books. Well, reading isn’t doing so it is easily forgotten. Hitler’s rampage of hatred through Europe was not even a lifetime ago. We have living witnesses of the death camps and the bloody war that stopped the insanity. Yet a huge number of people see it as ancient history, never to be repeated. The sad result of this faulty memory is that we also forget what allowed this kind of thing to happen, popular opinion. Germans would not have simply allowed Hitler to slaughter the Jews. He had to persuade them that Jews were dangerous. First they were flattered, told that their heritage and way of life were superior to any other. It was a small step from there to convince them that the Jews were a threat to their ordained way of life. This all made seeing them akin to disease laden rats even desirable. One cannot give a nod to slaughter unless one is convinced that the victims are not human. To and fro.... The Inquisition, the Salem witch trials, slavery and the Civil War, the civil rights movement. When will the pendulum swing again? All it takes for the popular opinion to shift is a hefty plague. Science and recent outbreaks of disease are warning us that with the destruction of the rain forest this possibility is less than remote. A scenario for your imagination I would like to present an imaginary scenario from the future. While it is, of course, fabricated I don't believe any of the circumstances are impossible. To understand history and it's events is to know how easily this could happen. A new world? A plague has broken out; nearly half the world’s population is wiped out. Religious fervor is common after catastrophe, oppression, blight or famine. So, even though the majority of the population has survived, our world is in a tail spin. Just about everyone has found God, in one way or another. The United States has experienced the dominance of an orthodox religious sect and popular opinion is now a reflection of this majority’s faith. Some of the population, in spite of the plague, still adhere to their beliefs. The problem is these old ways do not align with the new popular view. They cling to their old faith or liberalism or atheism and times are not easy for them. In order to keep their children from being indoctrinated in the new way they begin to school them at home. In this new political climate they could easily become the victims of fear and suspicion, persecution is rampant. What can save us? There is that remnant of people who will stand up to the popular opinion. Even if they accept the tenets of the majority faith, they will protect the freedom of others to choose freely. Because there are enough of them to defend the rights of those who subscribe to different beliefs the government is forced into a show of tolerance. Folks will be allowed their own belief system BUT since it has already been well established that the government should keep tabs on those who choose alternative learning these people will be subjected to regular inspection by the state. After all WE invited the government in, only now it’s our homes they invade monthly It is we who are under suspicion of child abuse and neglect simply because we don’t want our children taught in the the state way. Where did these peculiar people come from? What kind of oddball will defend others from persecution by a belief system they might even agree with? Who takes this kind of risk? Who is willing to protect the liberties of folks they disagree with, even if it could mean bringing persecution down on themselves? These are the children who were taught to think independently, to question authority and do the right thing in spite of popular opinion. My guess would be that many of these children were schooled at home before the plague hit. They were taught to think for themselves and to do right, no matter what. Wake up and smell the history!! I’m an amateur history buff so this may have contributed to my strong awareness of how fast things can change. History is the best illustration of human nature and it’s effects on mankind. People usually need to feel that their beliefs are the right ones. When other people don’t behave the same way it can threaten this security and lead to some scary behavior. Please folks, think it through!!! We are turning over our freedoms one by one. When we allow our fears and insecurities to turn fear and suspicion of others we start the ball rolling. By asking the government to keep tabs on someone else we are giving them leave to do the same to us. We are stepping onto a slippery slope which will drag us all down. *added 9/20/00 I found this quote on another web site. "Perhaps we do the minors of this country harm if First Amendment protections, which they will with age inherit fully, are chipped away in the name of their protection." -- US District Judge Lowell A. Reed Jr.  |
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