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Divided We Fall (Originally published CS Gazette, July 30, 2002)
by Steven Mahone
| Focus on the Family President, James Dobson, recently announced that he now "advises parents to pull their kids out of public schools if the schools are teaching anti-Christian propaganda." This is a serious edict to issue -- especially when it comes from a man whose opinion wields quite an influence with millions of Americans and numerous politicians. Since our nation is demographically about 70% Christian, it's difficult to believe that such a pervasive institution as public education could become so discriminatory towards its own kind. Perhaps it would help to know just what Dr. Dobson means by "anti-Christian propaganda." |
He describes homosexuality as a perverted lifestyle that is an "epidemic" and "among the most despicable of human behaviors." There's no doubt that he would take issue with any discussion of this topic that didn't reflect his hard line stance. Is it anti-Christian, then, to teach our children that same-sex attraction has existed throughout all of human history? Is it inappropriate to inform them that some of our greatest thinkers were (and are) homosexuals and that 1 out of every 15 people they will interact with during their lifetimes will be gay? Is it in our best interest to ignore the opinion of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics that homosexuality is just as normal as heterosexuality? Instead, Dr. Dobson, offers a checklist on his website for evaluating a school's "homosexual agenda" -- the final scores range from "corrupt" to "low risk for student endangerment." How can the use of such rigid and inflammatory words be justified in light of the historical evidence and expert opinion that says otherwise? |
Dr. Dobson continuously extols the virtues of teaching our youth about "sexual purity," abstinence until marriage, and the avoidance of pornography. Is there really a public school in the country that would steer its students away from such choices or recommend that they behave otherwise? Unfortunately, every public (and private) school administrator in the nation runs up against something quite intimidating when the time comes to deal with sex education: reality! Like it or not, middle and high school age children have fully functional anatomies. If we selectively shield them from the facts about their bodies or if we aren't completely forthright in our approach about human reproduction and sexuality, then how can we ever hope to surmount their ignorance and misunderstandings? Often, it's in our public schools where young men and women first learn about the changes occurring inside of them -- at least it's the first time that's free from the stigma and shame of our numerous superstitions. |
The National Academy of Sciences is one of the most prestigious scientific organizations in the world. They recommend the teaching of evolution as the best explanation for our human origins based upon the enormous body of evidence which reinforces the hypothesis that all life on earth is descended from a single common ancestor that existed some 3.8 billion years ago. James Dobson, on the other hand, advocates the teaching of a concept known as Intelligent Design. ID, as it turns out, is just a euphemism for Biblical Creation, which is just a roundabout way of saying, "Interpret the data however you want, my God still did it!" If Dr. Dobson is claiming that the NAS's stance is anti-Christian, then how does he suggest our schools go about distinguishing between what is science and pseudo-science if they can't even consult our greatest minds? |
Public education has provided the foundational bedrock that has shaped the success of our diverse society for nearly two centuries. The administrators and teachers that dutifully guide the education of our youth deserve our highest praise and should be afforded our best ideas of how to improve. But to abandon them, as James Dobson is now suggesting, because of some nebulous claim that they're teaching anti-Christian values, would be borderline negligence on our part. To buy into the notion that Christian-Americans need a separate educational environment than Hindu-, Jewish-, or atheist-Americans is to accept an imaginary defeat in a pretend battle. If we deny our children the opportunity to play in the same sandbox together, then where are they going to learn the critical skills needed for understanding and cooperation? Worse yet, what are we going to say to them when they ask us why we did such a thing? |
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