At the Risk of Ridiculousness
Here you can find something of interest to you to whom another world is possible, or to you, and to your students who want to facilitate liberatory discussions and action: www.newint.org. The no-nonsense series is especially interesting as is a book about Che Guevara: Che: Image of a Revolutionary. "Let me say, at the risk of seeming ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love." -- El Che
In the Year of Catastrophy, Minnegrad, Aug. 15,
Yours Truly
J.S
posted by Juha Suoranta @ 9/15/2005 12:44:00 pm
1 comments
1 Comments:
One well-established but dead end habit that guides much legislation in Washington is quick fix patchwork, pretty band aid solutions rather than forward thinking, long term profound solutions to huge shortcomings in the American system. Such short term tactics derail policies that might result in a truly better America and actually stay true to the spirit of our besieged Constitution.
The latest example of this is Republican- controlled House approval of a rule that would allow religious groups who receive taxpayer money (already wrong) to discriminate against potential job candidates for taxpayer-funded jobs on the basis of religion. Yikes.
This all falls under the umbrella of Head Start, a program that "requires" recipients of government funding to provide education according to government dictated and secular standards. We already know that when Head Start programs fall under the control of most religious groups, the standards of education are sub-par, to say the least. To ensure that this second-class education system remains intact, the Constitution-hating, Christian Fundamentalist majority party has now decided to allow these educational jokes to pick and choose teachers--again, teachers that we are funding--on the basis of their religious beliefs.
Rather than design and implement a national preschool eduction program for the poor that would provide the highest standards of education, truly empowering kids to move forward in our society, Congress throws money at "faith-based programs" that teach mythology and fairy tales rather than fact, science and the ways of our once respected Constitution.
Frankly, the notion that a percentage of my tax dollars funds sub-standard education for the poor and discriminatory hiring practices, all because Congress diverts funds "illegally and unconstitutionally" to religious schools (an oxymoron if there ever was one) is enough to make my head explode, twice.
This was once a country that understood that knowledge is power and that a world-class education is the only way to keep America free and a leader in science, thought and culture. A solid education is also the only enduring path out of poverty.
With the media quickly drifting from truthful and objective journalism to sensationalism, gossip and entertainment and an educational system churning out ignorance and a growing underclass ill-equipped to better themselves, one can only dread the future of this once great nation.
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