Saturday, February 5, 2011

Vouchers for Private School

Sometimes the most outlandish ideas get past otherwise intelligent people. While I'm being generous concerning the intellectual capacities of some of our elected leaders, I have to wonder if how any rational human being cannot understand that tax money to fund religious education is a bad idea.

It's very simple: if we can fund Christian education today, we may one day have to fund Muslim education tomorrow. Or Hindu. Or Buddhist. Or Sikh. Or the Worship of the Big Oak Tree Out Back.

Taking money away from the public education ends up hurting the poorest students and in turn hurts all of society. Taking money to fund religious instruction is a violation of the very soul of the American conscience. Our foundational liberty is a free conscience, a free people, a free nation. Religious education is the right of the parents but not on the public's dime.

Here is a link from Americans United for the Separation of Church and State that lists 10 Reasons to Oppose Vouchers.

1 comment:

Georgia Mountain Man said...

Vouchers are one of the centerpieces of the Republican education plan. Here in GA our Governor's people have openly stated that their intention is to kill public education. The new GOP Gov. of FL has also indicated that same concept. He has introduced legislation to begin the process. All of this is intended to turn education over to the churches to indoctrinate our youth in the fundamentalist principles which the modern GOP espouses. It is also meant to dumb down education and ensure that the youth are kept in lockstep with that political ideology. Not only that but it is also to ensure the poor and minorities are kept uneducated and under control. So, will they provide vouchers to Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist schools? Of course not. As the Texas House Speaker debate recently unfolded it was clear that even Jews were not welcome. I would expect a fight over funding for Catholic schools from some of these Neanderthals.