Conservatives banish Jefferson from history
2010-03-12 21:25:07.668932+00 by
Dan Lyke
3 comments
NY Times: Texas Approves
Curriculum Revised by Conservatives:
Cynthia Dunbar, a lawyer from
Richmond who is a strict constitutionalist and thinks the nation was founded on Christian
beliefs, managed to cut Thomas Jefferson from a list of figures whose writings inspired
revolutions in the late 18th century and 19th century, replacing him with St. Thomas
Aquinas, John Calvin and William Blackstone. (Jefferson is not well liked among the
conservatives on the board because he coined the term “separation between church and
state.”)
Not only is satire dead, but what passes for the modern "conservative" movement insists on
repeatedly pissing on its grave.
[ related topics:
Religion Law Education
]
comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2010-03-14 17:45:28.993947+00 by:
Mark A. Hershberger
there's also irony in the creation of Jefferson's Bible and the creation of this new curriculum,
#Comment Re: made: 2010-03-15 13:52:48.472167+00 by:
meuon
[edit history]
My casual readings gather a sense that our founding fathers were mostly a bunch of repressed judeo-christian-athiests that were trying to exist in and find some good uses for religion. They were men whom looked God in the eye and asked "why?",
I think they understood that "Faith" was potentially a good thing, "Blind Faith", either forced by a religion-government or internally created, was a bad thing.
As for the textbooks: Education should present as many historical facts and perspectives as possible, allowing the student to meld them with their own beliefs as they form them, supported by facts.
What will happen is that these children will get exposed to many other facts via the 'net and perhaps even books (ok, maybe e-books), or maybe a Thomas Jefferson facebook page. As they reach the age of self-reasoning and discover the taint on their educational materials, will discount most of them. Unfortunately many will only grok the tainted bile forced upon them.
But the real question is: Why are politicians deciding what gets taught?
#Comment Re: made: 2010-03-16 17:49:30.697598+00 by:
Shawn
Here's the liveblogging transcript of the debate and amendment. (via the Twitterverse)