Catholic-basher James G. Blaine
(Thanks to Susan for the nooze tip)
An upcoming Supreme Court case has the country’s teacher unions gnashing their teeth and warning of an educational disaster.
I thought we already had one of those. Ongoing.
“Espinoza vs. Montana Dept. of Revenue” challenges a Montana state law that gives tax credits to those who donate to scholarships to private schools–but not to “religious” schools (https://www.educationdive.com/news/supreme-court-to-hear-case-educators-worry-could-destabilize-public-school/570745/). ‘Cause that would be “helping the church.” Taboo!
The Montana law–and similar laws in 37 other states–is based on the Blaine Amendment, a failed Constitutional amendment from the 19th century whose aim was to ban public financial assistance to religious schools: more specifically, Catholic schools. James G. Blaine has gone down in history as the candidate whose presidential campaign self-destructed when he called the Democrat Party “the party of rum, Romanism, and rebellion.” Lots and lots of people resented that.
If the U.S. Supreme Court allows individuals and groups to donate money to religious school scholarships, warns Randi Weingarten, president of the far-left American Federation of Teachers, it “could decimate public education.”
Like, that would be a bad thing?
It would, she predicted, “siphon off”–get this!–“scarce funds” for education. What kind of joy juice is she drinking? Funds for public schools are all too plentiful, and anything but scarce. Does she foresee the demise of $100,000-plus annual teacher salaries? Ooooh!
The Blaine Amendment offspring that survive in 38 states discriminate against religious schools and Americans who want to send their children there.
America needs more Christian schooling, not less. Much, much more!
If the Left continues to get its way, Freedom of Assembly will be the next freedom to suffer assault.
People have organized around common interests. There are clubs for all sorts of interests and, for the most part, as long as those interests are within the law, such clubs function freely. But Political Correctness threatens such freedoms.
Religions have enjoyed a somewhat protected status for quite some time and religious schools are nothing new. An organized religion is founded around a shared interest; a common set of beliefs. If such a religious body sees fit to create its own schools, as long as these schools teach the subjects mandated by the state, they are free to present this within their religious context. I support the right of any religion to do so, whether I am in agreement with them doctrinally, or not.
The education establishment seems to have forgotten that even they can be replaced. The public education system in the US is a product of a degree of consensus on the part of the citizenry, but consensus can change over time and if enough of the population concludes that the public schools are no longer effective, I think that the shift to private and religiously-based education could easily gain momentum. I attended a graduation ceremony for a nearby charter school as was quite impressed. There are alternatives to the public school system and people’s choice of whom to donate to should not be influenced by any government.
Among Randi Weingarten’s more inane objections to religious schools is the dreadful (to her) possibility that they won’t “teach” evolution–a disaster to be avoided at all costs.
These people are not all there.
Up until 1960, the public schools emphasized personal character building – learning to deal with the flaws in your life and correct them. Now public education emphasizes the flaws in America and how to correct them – revolt and demand an end to capitalism.