Banning Patriotism

Whoa, this is a loaded article from Mark Loftin!

When Churchill was dropped from the UK school curriculum last July, one had to wonder if patriotism itself was next.  Now it's official.  The Institute of Education, a leading educational body, has warned teachers not to instill pride in students when speaking of great moments in British History:

"To love what is corrupt is itself corrupting, not least because it inclines us to ignore, forget, forgive or excuse the corruption. And there's the rub for patriotism."

Want some specific examples of how this move to eradicate patriotism is taking shape?

The recommendations singled out specific moments in history that students should now feel "ambiguous" about:

1750-1830 The Industrial Revolution: exploitation of the poor versus great wealth creation and growth
1807 Abolition of the slave trade. Britons were both practitioners of the trade and responsible for abolition
1947 Indian independence and Partition. How well did Britain manage its withdrawal from the sub-continent?
2003 Iraq war: was it liberation or occupation?

Basically, they're trying to re-write history!  Loftin goes on to illustrate a number of recent attacks on the U.K. by radical leftists:

• Last month, "Mum and Dad" become forbidden in British schools because it assumes a child's parents are different genders, and The Three Little Pigs was banned to not offend to Muslims.
• Last July, Winston Churchill was dropped from the UK school curriculum.
• Last April, teachings about the Holocaust were dropped as to not offend Muslims.
• Last March, schools began teaching 4-years olds about homosexuality through books like "King and King," (which is about a prince that rejects three female princesses before falling in love with a prince).
• An Inconvenient Truth is regularly shown in 3400 UK schools, instilling paranoia in 7-11 year olds (thanks to a recent ruling, though, teachers are at least required to warn that it may be biased. The High Court judge highlighted nine errors in the film).

America is experiencing the same kind of attacks:

• San Francisco is debating an anti-war textbook, which features corporate American celebrating the spoils of war and Ronald Regan hugging Osama Bin Laden.  Pete Hammer of the San Francisco Unified School District, who approved the book, says "The topic is one that a lot of teachers would have an interest in bringing into the classroom."
• A current bill gaining momentum by California lawmaker Joe Simitian (D - Palo Alto) would require California schools to include climate change as part of the science curriculum.
• Last October, "Mom and Dad" were banned from schools, along with "Husband and Wife." In the same bill, public schools were ordered to allow boys to use the girls' restroom or locker room, and vice versa, if they choose.
• Last June the state passed a homosexual education bill SB 777, which:

"...requires textbooks and other instructional resources to cast a positive light on homosexual 'marriages,' cross-dressing, sex-change operations and every other facet of homosexual and bisexual lifestyles."

• More hatred of Israel, as seen by anti-Israel speakers and the atmosphere that appears on the UC Irvine, UC Berkeley and San Francisco State campuses. 

Though there isn't an outright effort to ban patriotism or patriot men and women in American history (yet), the groundwork is being laid.  Socialist/Fascist dictators throughout history (like Stalin and Hitler, among others) knew that to change a culture, one first had to change the language of that culture.  Leftists have refined that tradition to an art form:

In typical Doublespeak fashion, the left has been adamant about manipulating patriotism's definition for years.  The Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines patriotism simply as "love for or devotion to one's country."  In 2001 Senator John Kerry redefined patriotism to mean "not drilling in the Arctic refuge."  In 2006, Kerry redefined it again to mean "wartime dissent."  Air America has defined it as "pointing out the flaws in your country."  Entire Web blogs are dedicated to this trickery, such as US Patriots United which issued it's "10 commandments of patriotism."  A few entries:

(someone who),

"respects the diversity and culture of all nations, recognizing that our continued success lay not in spite of other nations but in alliance with them in a uniform approach toward promoting the global general welfare."

"ensures that the basic rights of those we hold dear to access quality healthcare and education is steadfastly supported, uncompromisingly and without discrimination based on race, color, creed, gender, or orientation."

"offers foreign humanitarian aid unconditionally without tying it to religious dogma"

"exercises the right to openly challenge (the president) and hold accountable at all times, even and most particularly in times of war"

Those are not definitions of patriotism, but rather a collective definition of liberal utopian drivel!  Loftin's conclusion is what many of us on the Right have been saying for a very long time:

Perhaps Leo Lacayo, San Francisco Republican Party media surrogate, put it best with his response to San Francisco's anti-war book: "We're not teaching them -- we're basically washing their brains with liberal mish-mash."

Amen!  Our public schools have largely become brain washing institutions rather than teaching institutions.  Sure, it's not all-pervasive yet, but the trend is undeniable.  Just look at the list above - global warming, homosexuality, anti-war...  These are the primary planks of the liberal agenda, and they have become ingrained in our public schools to a startling and disturbing degree.  If children are drilled on these things over and over for 12 of the first 18 years of their lives, how likely do you think they are going to be to question them?  It will take a major effort on the part of parents, churches, and others outside the system to counteract the effect.  Sadly, American colleges are even worse, the home of many of the most far-Left liberals in the world - remember Ward Churchill, the Colorado professor who called the victims of 9/11 little 'Eichmans' in reference to the 'architect of the Holocaust' simply because they worked in capitalist businesses?  People like Churchill are corrupting the youth of America, not only brainwashing them into Leftist liberal ideas, but also by withholding actual teaching about actual history.

I have to admit I don't understand people who favor Leftist liberal policies, especially when we can look at other countries around the world who have fallen down because of those exact same policies!  Things like universal health care, big-government 'nanny state-ism', pandering to Islamic fundamentalism, and many other things can be readily observed to wreak havoc on free and democratic societies.  It is not speculation, it is observable fact!  And yet, many Americans still want to implement those same things here.

I'm at a loss to understand it.  Fortunately, many every day Americans have not yet given in, but even more simply are not aware of what's going on.  The goal is to get people to wake up to these dangers before it becomes too late to stop them from happening here.  We don't want to ban patriotism in America like they've done in the U.K.  At least, I don't.  Do you?

There's my two cents.