RE: Opt out? (was re. personal thoughts)

["Tom Hansen" <thansen@moscow.com>]

Greetings Visionaires -

Doug Jones stated:

> Several folks have again raised this "pandora's box" reply concerning
> taxpaying, but it still misses the original point. For the new folks,
> the original objection against the levy was an appeal to the separation
> of religion and state. Funding public schools is a violation of that
> professed value. Public schools use taxes to teach a particular ideology
> on history, science, math, literature, politics, morality, etc. (in
> other words -- a religion -- a system of assumptions and norms about
> ultimate reality). No pandora's box results from not forcing people to
> fund other ideologies and worldviews. Why do public schools get to
> violate the separation of church and state, but no one else does?
> Answer: power politics, not a genuine devotion to the separation of
> church and state. The response to the original objection has been some
> variation on the denial that public schools teach a worldview: "They
> don't. They teach a . . . a . . . a . . . a . . . hey, wait, no, you're
> the evil ones." Which only proves the initial objection.


Pray tell, Mr. Jones, what specific religion is the government teaching in
public schools?

This is important to me as I am a grade-school graduate, junior high school
graduate, high school graduate, and college graduate of public schools.
Your concept of government schools suggests that I have been strongly (and
forcibly) indoctrinated into some sort of government "religion".  Please,
Mr. Jones, advise me so that I may attend the proper church.  If this
"religion" does not recognize a supreme being, should these schools be
permitted to recognize Christmas and Easter as holidays?

Patiently awaiting your expert guidance,

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

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Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.

- Author Unknown
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