In observing human history, and our present times, it has become painfully obvious to me that the folks who most oppose freedom are those fighting for failed ideas. To the hopeless ideologue who hopes to defy the record of recorded human history, freedom is an unacceptable and existential threat to their ideology. As such, those who seek to force utopian fantasies and socio-economic impossibilities on an unwilling populace often resort to free speech restrictions and governmental programs. That’s because, aside from misusing the force of law, these fantastic notions wouldn’t survive long enough to make the evening news. Freedom and free-markets will not support the ideology of the Left, so the Left is attempting to dismantle freedom and free-markets.
Perhaps the hottest front in this war for the soul of our nation is the classroom. Education is the edge of the razor of American culture, proving the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln’s assertion that “the philosophy of the classroom in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next.” Thus, the Left has aggressively engaged education policy for decades, while conservatives seemed content to watch from the sidelines. The entire time the Left’s agenda has been to drive conservatives, both fiscal and social, far from the classroom in an effort to indoctrinate the next generation of American leaders and voters. That’s why, now that Americans are finally demanding educational freedom through school choice, the Left is on the warpath.
Here in South Carolina, the drumbeat of dire prognostications has been particularly powerful; the entrenched special interests of the South Carolina Education Association and their liberal allies wants nothing more than to smother school choice in the cradle. That’s because returning decisions about the education of children back to their parents presents a clear and present danger to their socio-cultural indoctrination efforts, not to mention their cushy perquisites paid for by the taxpayer. That’s why it’s critical that South Carolinians who hold their children as their only special interest stand down the SCEA and support comprehensive school choice reform.
The entrenched education establishment has already begun their misinformation campaign, claiming that such a measure will hurt “the children.” I’m not sure which children they’re referring to, since school choice reforms proposed in South Carolina will not take one cent from children who remain in the public school system, and will actually provide opportunities for children in lower income areas to attend a school that meets their needs. If the educational establishment is worried about “the children,” they should support this common sense reform in droves, as it provides the promise of a quality education for all South Carolina children. It ensures that every child in our state, not just those whose parents can afford to pay massive state taxes for education and still write a check to a private school, have an opportunity to learn.
I firmly believe that the future of South Carolina’s culture and economy hangs in the balance in this debate over educational freedom. Additionally, this is one of the most pressing civil rights issues of our time, which must be addressed through an honest dialogue between the people of this state, not entrenched special interests that use children as political pawns. I’d encourage every South Carolina who cares about education, our economy and our state’s future to support candidates for the South Carolina House and Senate who support comprehensive school choice reform on November 6th.
