In my state, a social studies textbook was rejected because it had the audacity to note that Rosa Parks was denied her seat on the bus because she was Black. The approved version of this book notes only that Rosa Parks was denied her seat and then one day, she wasn’t. Leaving out that one crucial detail makes all the difference in the world. I feel like I’m living in a dystopian world where Truth is a malleable concept. Our schools cannot discuss things like gender. Many of my colleagues and I have found ourselves nervously pausing when a student discusses her two moms. Against this backdrop, our state is offering certification and stipend for a 60-hour online course on Civics so that we can teach our kids to be model citizens. After reviewing the Constitution (albeit in a white-washed day; too much to go into here), there is a module on civics where things like public discourse and civility are discussed.
It’s almost laughable that our state wants us to teach kids about reasonable public discourse when our governor went on the attack against one of our biggest employers for speaking out against a policy that openly discriminates against the LGBTQ community. One of the lecturers is the editor of a Christian publication. While I’m on the fence about whether or not this editor should’ve been passed over for being part of a religious publication, I’m pretty sure that I’m disgusted by the fact that this publication just heaped praise upon Satan’s Latest Tenant, Pat Robertson. Not the best advocate for reasoned and civilized debate.
We are seeing on an almost daily basis the erosion of decency in our society. You would not be that far off the mark to think that the goal of my state is to erase every nuance of history that de-sanitizes our Great Story. Howard Zinn must be spinning in his grave.