There were a number of ways to view this piece in the Falls Church News-Press Online, but the view of homeschoolers and the homeschool movement is chilling:
It appears America’s religious fanatics are modeling their efforts on the success of radical Islamists in the Middle East, who reversed the trend of secularization in the region by hijacking education.
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It is important to realize that the goal of many in the homeschooling movement is to create an army of zealot zombies who are committed to transforming America into a fundamentalist “Christian Nation.”
“We are not home-schooling our kids just so they can read,” said Michael Farris, the founder of the Home School Legal Defense. “The most common thing I hear is parents telling me they want their kids to be on the Supreme Court. And if we put enough kids in the farm system, some may get to the major leagues.”
Many of the cult-kiddies are coming of age and have already infiltrated Washington. Homeschoolers are well represented on Capitol Hill, and they played a disproportionate role in George W. Bush’s administration.
You can write off this writer for his own agenda, but that will not step homeschooling back from the ‘culture wars’ we have been drug into. I will type it again, the ‘culture wars’ helps politicians and political parties, not families.
The commentary, Zombie Zealots, can be read here.
HEM
Helen
Tracy
mark
marynix
ann-lahrson-fisher
valerie
sandi
david
Labeling parents who choose to home educate in a way that does not match one’s own philosophy as ‘child abusers’ seems to be a recurring theme in incoherent political diatribes like this. If they were stripped down to an honest and logical argument, I suspect ‘child welfare’ and ‘homeschooling’ would not even be apropos. I’m left wondering, though, does the label ‘abuse’ stick in the minds of those ‘undecided’ on the broader topic of homeschooling? Does it resonate with reasonable people? I don’t know; I certainly hope not.
Michael Farris and HSLDA does NOT speak for me, or the thousands or millions of others who homeschool for myriad non-religious reasons. In fact, they speak counter to much of what I hold dear in this country. I wish they would stop trying to scare people into giving them money, so that they can fund their exclusive Christian school and candidates and extremist legislation. I know secular homeschoolers who join, because of their fear tactics.