Schoolchildren or Obama Youth?

David C. Stolinsky, MD
Sept. 28, 2009

For a generation, students’ test scores in reading and math have been falling, while we “re-normed” the SAT in an attempt to conceal the fall. One would think that our teachers would rededicate themselves to teaching the basics in order to prepare young people for increasingly technologic jobs. One would think that our teachers’ unions would redouble their efforts to fulfill this heavy responsibility.

One would be wrong.

Apparently some “educators” believe that too much time is being spent on teaching the skills young people will need to succeed in life. Apparently they believe that whether or not young people learn these skills is less important than that young people become indoctrinated in the “correct” political and social beliefs. In fact, if the students do not learn the basic skills they need, they will grow up dependent on the state for help − which may be the true goal of those who are doing their best to bring down our educational system.

Santayana famously remarked, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” But an anonymous wit added, “Every time history repeats itself, the price goes up.” We seem to be doing our best to prove both of them correct.

Those of us who study history remember that even before he took power, Hitler formed the Hitlerjugend, the Hitler Youth, for the purpose of indoctrinating young people and preparing them to be loyal Nazis. Soon the Boy Scouts and Catholic youth groups were dissolved, and all boys were forced to join the Hitlerjugend, and girls the Bund deutscher Mädel, the German Girls’ Federation.

But those who learned no history − or who learned nothing from history − see nothing wrong with indoctrinating young students in public schools. They see nothing wrong with taking children whom parents entrusted to them, and filling the children’s heads with political ideas that the parents might find objectionable. They see parents not as ultimately responsible for children, but merely as breeding animals meant to provide the state − that is, the leader − with new subjects to rule, and the teachers with new targets to indoctrinate.

All this makes one wish that in addition to separation of church and state, people gave some thought to separation of school and state. Allowing children to be indoctrinated by agents of the federal government is a sure road to loss of freedom.

You think this is too harsh? You think I am an alarmist? Look at these videos:

·         The first video came out during the election campaign in 2008. Some saw it as an aberration. Others saw it as a warning. The latter were correct.

·         The second video also came out during the election campaign. It too was ignored by most people. As in the first, note the coordinated gestures that suggest cult programming rather than classroom teaching.

·         The third video was made recently in an elementary school in New Jersey. Is this a lesson intended for children who will grow up to be free citizens of a republic? Or is it a lesson intended for children who will grow up to be cogs in a machine controlled by the state? The school principal declared that she would do the same thing again. And why not? Who will stop her?

It would be foolish to assume that these videos depict the only instances of political indoctrination in our schools. They depict merely the instances that were caught on video and posted on the Internet. How frequent is such blatant indoctrination? The only way to find out is to ask kids what they are “learning” in school. Parents may be the last to know.

In case you missed the lyrics on the third video, here they are in all their glory:

Barack Hussein Obama
He said that all must lend a hand
To make this country strong again
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said we must be clear today
Equal work means equal pay
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said that we must take a stand
To make sure everyone gets a chance
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said Red, Yellow, Black or White
All are equal in his sight
Mmm, mmm, mm!

In his sight? Or in His sight? You can’t tell capitalization in spoken language. But there is an enormous difference.

This song then merges into an updated version of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Instead of, “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord,” we now have, “Hello Mister President, you are the only one.” Well no, actually. We also have all the executive departments and independent agencies, plus the co-equal legislative and judicial branches, not to mention the 50 states and all the cities and towns. “You are the only one” suggests the Führerprinzip, the notion that a few gifted individuals are born to rule, and their will should control the entire nation.

One must admit that these new lyrics for the “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” represent change, but they surely do not represent improvement. There is a difference, you know.

We removed Christmas trees and carols from schools and universities.

We demoted Christmas and Easter vacations to winter and spring breaks.

We teach children that the first Thanksgiving was when the Pilgrims thanked the Indians − excuse me, the Native Americans − and not when they thanked the Lord for His bounty.

We teach that the Constitution has no fixed meaning, and means whatever a judge says it means today. Tomorrow it may mean something else. Who knows?

We no longer teach the Declaration of Independence, because it proclaims that our rights come from God, not from the state − and because we no longer think of America as an independent nation, or ourselves as independent individuals.

We are slowly but steadily replacing the Almighty with the almighty state. So it may seem natural that we teach young people to chant hymns of praise to the leader. Or is it the Leader? It’s becoming hard to tell the difference.

Check out the photos of children on the Obama website. Check out the organization called Kids for Obama. These were of questionable suitability when Obama was a candidate, but they are clearly inappropriate now that he is president. We don’t have personality cults here. Or at least we haven’t until now.

Go back and watch the second video again. Check out the latter part. If that doesn’t cause you anxiety, perhaps you just don’t understand the situation.

Am I an alarmist? If I smell smoke, is it rude for me to shout “Fire!” too loudly? Must I wait till the whole structure and all its inhabitants are engulfed?

Don’t you smell smoke? Check out the straight-arm gestures of the children in the latter part of the third video, as they sing the bastardized version of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” that was drummed into their innocent heads. Perhaps their teachers don’t understand the meaning of the straight-arm gestures. Or perhaps they do.

And perhaps you should consider that the original hymn was an appeal to God to aid us in our struggle for freedom, while the new version is a hymn of praise to the leader who is taking our freedom away. That many people do not understand the difference is the most frightening thing of all.

Those who give up their children to be indoctrinated politically do not deserve the blessing of having children, but they do deserve to lose the freedom they no longer cherish. That their children will share that fate is the saddest thing of all.

Dr. Stolinsky writes on political and social issues. He can be contacted at dstol@prodigy.net.

www.stolinsky.com