Texas Board of Education and the Re-writing of American History

[Potemkine]

I don't normally read The New York Times Magazine, but the cover story intrigued me.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/ma...OCmFEJRwA8Xorg

Basically, the Texas BoE (folks with little to no knowledge of education, or the various disciplines being taught in K-12) want to re-write the curriculum of social studies to show that America was founded by Christians, and America was/is to be a Christian nation.

This is of course, despite the fact that almost EVERY major historian of that time balks at the notion. Not to mention the rest of the teachers who will be teaching the material.

Scopes trial redux?

Thoughts?

[Whiskey_dod]

wow...

[DancingCorpse]

WHAT?

[FragRaptor]

[DancingCorpse]

No, just fucking NO. This isn't funny, this is NOT something to be scoffed at, this is serious, and SERIOUSLY wrong. On MANY fucking levels.

[Zer0-]

This thread is going to get ugly....Since i am a Christian, i better just avoid this topic entirely lol.

[GReYVee]

My thoughts.

Well I do agree with some of this.

"In the colonial period, there were two major Christian factions, both of which derived from England. The Congregationalists, in New England, had evolved from the Puritan settlers, and in the South and middle colonies, the Anglicans came from the Church of England. Nine colonies developed state churches, which were supported financially by the colonial governments and whose power was woven in with that of the governments. Other Christians — Lutherans, Baptists, Quakers — and, of course, those of other faiths were made unwelcome, if not persecuted outright"

...many pages later...

In fact, the founders were rooted in Christianity — they were inheritors of the entire European Christian tradition — and at the same time they were steeped in an Enlightenment rationalism that was, if not opposed to religion, determined to establish separate spheres for faith and reason.




But than I read on and say.
What the fuck?!

"Marshall also proposed that children be taught that the separation-of-powers notion is “rooted in the Founding Fathers’ clear understanding of the sinfulness of man,” so that it was not safe for one person to exercise unlimited power, and that “the discovery, settling and founding of the colonies happened because of the biblical worldviews of those involved.” Marshall recommended that textbooks present America’s founding and history in terms of motivational stories on themes like the Pilgrims’ zeal to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the natives.

One recurring theme during the process of revising the social-studies guidelines was the desire of the board to stress the concept of American exceptionalism, and the Christian bloc has repeatedly emphasized that Christianity should be portrayed as the driving force behind what makes America great."

I am sorry but doesn't anyone see the complete hypocrisy in that statement?






And Again WRONG. This obfuscated emotional blackmail erks me!

Then she pushes forward: “We as a nation were intended by God to be a light set on a hill to serve as a beacon of hope and Christian charity to a lost and dying world.” But the true picture of America’s Christian founding has been whitewashed by “the liberal agenda” — in order for liberals to succeed “they must first rewrite our nation’s history” and obscure the Christian intentions of the founders. Therefore, she wrote, “this battle for our nation’s children and who will control their education and training is crucial to our success for reclaiming our nation.”


I am just too pissed off to read anymore. I already witnessed my textbooks K-12 (I am 27 years old) constantly emphasize racism as the cause of every war. When Race has nothing to do with any of it. My generation focused on equality, and race, race and equality. Activism, repentance.. affirmative action -- I am tired of our history being obscured like this.

And now our kids will be taught this bullshit?!?!?!?!!

[DancingCorpse]

And now our kids will be taught this bullshit?!?!?!?!!

Exactly my thoughts, and if this kind of crap continues I might as well just move out of the country....How's Canada?

[Zer0-]

It's STARTING!!!!

[Consultant]

The religious views of the founding fathers are irrelevant. The days of Christendom are long over and I am surprised this even got off the drawing board. I give it a snowball's chance in that possibly imaginary place called hell of being enacted. It just seems impossible.

So many people waste so much time fighting these ridiculous battles.