OPINION:
Like a swarm of bees, back-to-school advertisements sting vacationing kids with the reminder that the first day of school is around the corner. And now given swarms of politically connected activists, parents also have something to fear with the starting of school: “progressive” agendas overrunning academic curriculums.
Schools are expected to be institutions for teaching math, science, reading and writing. But activists see them as another venue to peddle their platforms on labor unions, animal liberation, vegan diets and leftist environmental policy.
Last month, Big Labor had a huge win. After several failed attempts, Connecticut unions pushed a bill through the state’s legislature that directs public schools to provide curriculum on labor history and law, organized labor and collective bargaining — to be taught by unionized teachers, of course.
The bill likely passed due to its phony provision to include “the history of economics of free market capitalism and entrepreneurialism.” Despite this feigned attempt at balance, the law will no doubt produce corrupted curriculum. Evidence comes from Delaware, where a task force made entirely of labor bosses ensures the “fair and balanced instruction” of mandated union propaganda.
But the king of labor education is still California. In 2012, the Golden State, which has mandated labor education in public schools for more than a decade, expanded their existing week of labor education — the entire month of May is now “Labor History Month.”
There is no limit to the type of fringe propaganda that can creep into kids’ heads and hands. For those familiar with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) stripper stunts, it should come as no surprise that the material provided for kids often contains graphically violent, sexual and just plain grotesque. One comic book is titled, “Your Mommy Kills Animals.”
In protest of a dairy cow visiting an elementary school last year, PETA handed out an innocently titled comic, “A Cow’s Life.” Inside, horrified children and parents discovered more than just a cartoon cow. The propaganda pamphlet contained graphic photographs of infected udders and bulls being de-horned. The Los Angeles Daily News reported one livid mother’s thoughts on the matter, “Children are off-limits . This sort of thing is really to terrify you, not to teach.”
Another extremist group, the misnamed Humane Society of the United States — not to be confused with your local animal shelter — has a more subtle approach to advance its vegan agenda. For years, the organization has pushed the “Meatless Monday” campaign to remove meat from school lunches once a week. Dozens of cities and school districts have fallen prey to the movement. Vegan activists flak the meatless movement as “healthy,” but there is nothing healthy about foregoing the hard-to-replace protein, zinc and iron found in meat. (When school districts banned candy and cupcakes, students started a black market. Chicken nuggets may be next).
On the environmental front, many schools are being infiltrated with solar and wind education programs that stress the necessity of these energy sources. One program in Illinois even installs insignificant, yet visible, wind turbines and solar panels at schools around the state. What’s not taught to kids in these programs? How these “sustainable” energy sources will reduce their parents’ ability to pay for gas and groceries owing to sky-high electric bills. A recent study found that wind energy is three times more expensive than coal and four times more expensive than nuclear power.
We all want clean air and water for our children and grandchildren, but environmentalists’ energy agendas compromise the future of affordable, reliable energy — and these activists are willing to induce hysteria to achieve their visions.
Whatever the hype is about, it is clear liberal activists are not worried about the truth. They know thinking adults are an obstacle to many of their policies. Kids who don’t know any better? A much easier audience to play to.
• Rick Berman is president of Berman and Co., a Washington public affairs firm.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.