HR 899 is one sentence. "The Department of Education (ED) shall terminate on December 31, 2018."
Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky is the one who created this bill, stating that: “Unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. should not be in charge of our children’s intellectual and moral development.”
The segment about "moral development" is what worries me the most, especially after the election of creationist Betsy DeVos. Of course, if the bill passed she would be out of a job, but the result would essentially be the same. An emphasis on private schooling, or the introduction of "moral teachings" in school - and in the United States - that means bringing Christianity into the school and ignoring all other religions as if they were merely fairy tales.
When looking at arguments by politicians on why they voted for Betsy Devos, or why they're backing HR 899, I see mostly the same rhetoric. Dangerous liberal schools are "polluting" young minds. One nation under God means God should be emphasized. These teachers are dangerous for our children.
While it's not quite on the same level, I can't help but be reminded of my mother, and the way that she grew up. My mother was a young child during the Cultural Revolution in China. My mother saw first-hand when it started to become dangerous to go to school. The Red Guard came and dragged teachers out of their classrooms and beat them for "polluting young minds". Schools were shut down.
My mother was taught in the basement of a library by her grandfather, alongside other children from her neighborhood. She remembers the hushed tones - sometimes waiting in darkness and silence to make sure that the guard was not near. Her grandfather loved learning, and loved books. He saved books from burning in that basement. He taught the children regardless of the risk, because he knew they had to learn.
My mother loves learning. She ended up eventually getting her bachelor's and master's degree in education, and she instilled that love of learning in me from a young age. But she rarely talks about those days, hiding away, soaking up knowledge in a secret classroom.
Every time I see a news article about whats happening in politics, I can't help but see the connections to the past. A light goes off in my head, an alarm of warning. I wish I could say that the phone calls we do have helped, but despite the volume of phone calls to the senate creating record numbers in opposition to Betsy DeVos, I can't help but feel a little bit defeated. I can't help but feel dread. But most of all, I feel the need to resist. I just hope that if the time came, I could be as brave as my great-grandfather, but mostly I hope that we do not let that ever come to pass.
