Is it in the interest of a nation
to impose uniformity – a common education and thinking – upon its people? Or is
a nation best served when its government allows for diversity of belief, child
rearing and religion?
It had seemed that the West had
learned some painful but illuminating lessons about imposed uniformity from the
bloody communist and national socialist experiments, but perhaps we will be
compelled to painfully relearn them. Just a couple of days ago the
U.S.President “stood before a crowd of 2,000 young people…and called for an end to
Catholic education in Northern
Ireland”:
- “If
towns remain divided,” said the U.S. President, “if Catholics have their
schools and buildings and Protestants have theirs, if we can’t see
ourselves in one another and fear or resentment are allowed to harden—that
too encourages division and discourages cooperation.”
While we all want to see greater levels of national and
international cooperation, it is highly questionable that this can be achieved
by removing the various religions and philosophies.
Ironically, the President’s thinking partakes of its own
religious narrative. This narrative had been succinctly articulated by Mike
Adams, University
of North Carolina:
- In the
first act, man is born innocent. In the second act, man is corrupted by ‘society.’
In the third act, the progressive saves him.” (Terrell Clemons, Salvo Magazine, #25, 62)
This is the essence of today’s progressive religion – invent
a progressive national structure that will liberate the “innocent” from the
shackles of religion. The President thinks that, somehow, if we could just get
beyond religion and human differences, we could attain “neutrality” and have a
better world. However, he seems to be unwilling to acknowledge that he is
merely substituting his own secular religion in place of the others. If he
succeeds in tearing down all of the Catholic and Protestant schools, these will
merely be replaced by his own secular schools, no less committed to a certain set of values and beliefs than the other
religions.
Amazingly, he claims that such intolerance – such a violation
of the basic principles and acceptance of diversity that had made the West
great – will encourage “cooperation.” Instead, this kind of intolerance – this imposition
of Federal uniformity - only creates division, mistrust, anger, bitterness and
polarization. And these are the very fruits we are beginning to see all around
us as the public trust in government and media plummet to new and dangerous
lows.
What best benefits the children? This should be our prime
concern! If our President could demonstrate that Protestant, Catholic and home
schools caused serious injury to children, he might begin to make a case in
favor of only one uniform system of education – the radical secular version.
However, these secular public schools have a worse track record than the others. They are jungles where violence
and political correctness reign unchallenged.
Instead, we need the diversity in thought and education, and
they will serve to promote a healthy competition and accountability
Will religious diversity create what the President claims it
will: “division and discourages cooperation.” Instead, it was the genius of
this nation that recognized that a real unity could only be achieved by
respecting diversity. In fact, the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was
essential to building a Union among our 13
states:
- Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof…
The “free exercise” of religion is under severe attack. It
threatens the unity that has made this nation great – a unity that has allowed
diverse peoples to all feel grateful for this one nation. We therefore need
this Amendment more than ever!
We will never be rid of the differences. My wife and I still
have our differences, but we have learned to love and appreciate each other
despite these differences. Our marriage and cooperation, therefore, do not
depend upon worldview uniformity. In fact, any coercion used to achieve
uniformity would only drive us apart.
In the thinking of many, religion has become the enemy.
However, in his 1796 Farewell Address, the well-seasoned George
Washington reiterated these broadly accepted sentiments:
- “Of
all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity,
religion and morality are indispensible supports. In vain would that man
claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great
pillars…The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect
and cherish them…reason and experience both forbid us to expect that
national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”
Ironically, the very thing that our President seeks to suppress
is the very belief system that effectively teaches us peace, love for our
enemies and cooperation. Sadly, he wants to tear down our buildings. However,
the emerging scandals are beginning to reveal the costs to this nation of coerced
uniformity and the elimination of the “enemies.” It can only get worse.
