Will current loud voices threaten public education?

George Gammon said the other day that "decades go by where there is no change, then (suddenly) weeks will go by where there are decades of change."

The status quo can be calming in and of itself. For example, the knowledge that even if you do not know how to handle the McDonald's "kiosk," someone will be available to take your order anyway. Or, that a bank will keep its local branch open and you can actually walk in the door and transact business with someone. Big banks have been closing branches at a rapid pace. Sometimes a bank location is understaffed to where there's a single employee seated at the drive-through.

What if the day comes where there is nothing but self-checkout stations at the grocery store? Will I starve? What if the U.S. Mail goes "private?"

The changes or concerns just cited are sort of "micro." The macro challenges are political. For most of my life we just assumed that Joe McCarthy was a bad person, an odious individual who had to be removed from power. So much paranoia and fear-mongering. But a growing element of the Republican Party is having no problem speaking like "Tailgunner Joe" again. No apologies, no defensiveness. They'll "get in the face" of anyone who tries reminding them of the old established wisdom. 

So hard to understand this change. 

It has been common all my life to hear scattered sentiment about "why should I have to pay for other people's kids?" In other words, why should people with no kids in school pay taxes to support public schools? Scattered sentiment, yes. On a gut level I can relate to the frustration sometimes. Yes, sometimes I'm inclined to think like many of us do, about how the local public school can seem like a "money pit." 

I remember many years ago, when the Morris school was in one of those public advocacy campaigns for more money, I voiced a little skepticism in a "back shop" conversation at the Morris newspaper. "The school says it needs more money." To which a work colleague responded: "The school always needs more money." 

My point is, such reservations have always been voiced out and about, and maybe it could be considered healthy vetting for what the school does. Commendable enough, it is. But what many of us were not expecting, was the day arriving - now - where the people who plead about "not wanting to pay for other people's kids" would get dangerously close to the mainstream. It might even be the mainstream now. 

 

Senator Ron Johnson of WI

He has morphed

The most prominent spokesman for the new attitude might be U.S. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. Once a sensible but rather obscure Republican, who did all the proper things by Republican standards, he has shed all reservations. Such an attitude was generally considered impolitic at one time. 

We all knew that publicly-supported education with its warts was part of the cherished American model. Now I hear people saying: "If you want to have kids, homeschool them." 

Well, wouldn't that be nice? Taxpayers would have their bills reduced, maybe no more "money pit" locally, and hey, parents could be sure of instilling the "values" they insist on. Your child might never have to discover what gay people are. Your child might never have to be told about slavery or Jim Crow, because those things are embarrassing for white people. 

Even with a pea brain, you ought to be able to figure that young people have a natural curiosity that cannot be held down. Oh, they will discover all sorts of history and ideas that you might want to cuss at. In fact, attempts at suppression will just make kids more curious. 

 

Beyond schools. . .

We'll still have a library, won't we? Not so fast, we may not, and I'm not even kidding you. You only need look at Idaho. Legislation is proceeding there that might make it impossible for anyone to consider being a library employee. Jail time even involved? I guess the main target there is the LGBTQ consciousness. It goes broader into the realm of "obscene material." Which reminds me instantly of the old famous quote from a judge: "I can't define pornography but I know it when I see it." 

Rick Santorum once talked about getting "all pornography off the Internet." Such naivete. You can't control the Internet. 

In this current climate I have suggested that the day might be coming where public school classes will have all lectures through pre-prepared videos. Thus the schools can be sure that no "divisive" ideas are even suggested. 

A revealing book

Defining "divisive" is like defining pornography, of course. 

Would this be divisive: to suggest that the Mexicans were really the "good guys" in the battle of the Alamo? It's totally true: the Mexicans were fighting against slavery. They won the battle of the Alamo but lost at San Jacinto. Erasing slavery would require so much blood to be shed. But it got eradicated. Now it's risky for a public school teacher to even talk about slavery. Maybe the teacher would have to get "both sides." But of course that's ridiculous. 

However, many things I once thought ridiculous are now on the verge of having to be dealt with. Republicans/conservatives have laws mapped out that would silence certain ideas through lawsuit threats. Civil litigation of course has the effect of real law. Look at what happened in Texas with abortion. 

You might suggest we need our public schools because we need their sports teams! I'm one who thinks there is excess with sports. But will we choose to cling to public education as it has more or less always existed? Or are the Ron Johnsons and other loud Republicans going to push it all aside? Maybe to force everyone to just "homeschool?" Is that where we're really headed? 

 

The origin

The New York Times had an article with the headline that Ron Johnson "was not always like this." Then a subhead: "Four years of Trump changed him." Same with Devin Nunes, the most annoying Republican from California. He was once fairly restrained and thoughtful. Trump has come along like a big cult leader, a la Jim Jones. It's not that bad? It's headed there. 

Final thought: What if young people just stop having kids? There are signs the trend has already started. Too difficult to pay for them. Inflation mounts. Anxiety grows with climate change. Maybe God will inflict punishment on all of us like at Sodom and Gomorrah. I hope the "evangelical Christians" suffer the worst. I hope Pat Robertson gets his comeuppance.

 

Our former library director in Morris, Melissa Yauk, shared some wisdom with me this morning (Wednesday). It is germane to what I write here. Melissa lives in Idaho now. She is aware of some of the strange things going on in her state. I might note there's a rather unconventional lieutenant governor. 

Melissa dispensed her wisdom with a quote from Marcus Aurelius: "One thing here is worth a great deal: to pass your life in truth and justice with a benevolent disposition even to liars and unjust men."

She didn't name names. That's the sort of thing I do. Let's all strive for love in the face of it all. Distress overseas? Heck I grew up during Vietnam. 

Melissa added that life in Idaho has its pluses. She writes: "Despite the intolerant viewpoints of some people, it is an 'easy' state to live in. . .weather-wise, traffic-wise."

Congratulations, Melissa. Nothing so generous can be said about Minnesota weather now.

I miss Melissa here in Morris.

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com