Interfaith Texas group stands against the SBOE's curriculum changes - Polidicks

As some of you may recall the Texas School Board of Education has [url=http://www.facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=881100]recently been pushing through a number of questionable changes[/url] in their presentment of social studies for Texas students, most of which are geared at white-washing American history and presenting viewpoints to favor the US being founded as a "Christian" state. All this is done in favor of promoting "American exceptionalism". The group has also attempted to position themselves as acting in the interests of all the faithful. This is not the case. The statement issued by the clergy, [url]http://tfninsider.org/2010/05/12/clergy-take-stand-on-social-studies/[/url] [quote]An interfaith group of clergy today called on the State Board of Education to stop downplaying constitutional protections for religious freedom in proposed new social studies curriculum standards for Texas public schools. The board will meet in Austin on May 19-21 to debate and take a final vote on the proposed social studies standards. Because of the state’s large size, publishers will write new textbooks to meet Texas standards and then sell those books across the country. “Our Founding Fathers understood that the best way to protect religious liberty in America is to keep government out of matters of faith,” said the Rev. Roger Paynter, pastor of Austin’s First Baptist Church. “But this state board appears hostile to teaching students about the importance of keeping religion and state separate, a principle long supported in my own Baptist tradition and in other faiths.” Rev. Paynter spoke at a press conference with other clergy a week before the state board meets to consider final revisions to the proposed curriculum standards. Some state board members argue that the nation’s Founders wanted government to promote religion, particularly Christianity. In March the board rejected a proposed curriculum standard requiring high school government students to learn that the Founders barred government from promoting or disfavoring one religion over all others in America. The rejection of that proposed standard was unwise because the nation’s founders saw how governments in Europe generated conflict by wedding church and state, said Robert Haas, assistant rabbi at Congregation Emanuel in Houston. “In a country that is home to many faiths, it’s important for our students to understand that government must not pick and choose which religions to favor,” Rabbi Haas said. “That basic constitutional protection for the free exercise of religion has allowed faith to thrive in America for more than two centuries while other nations around the world have been plagued by religious conflict.” Speakers at the press conference also included the Rev. Larry Bethune, pastor of University Baptist Church in Austin and the Rev. Valda Jean Combs, pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church in Waco. All are part of the Texas Faith Network, which includes more than 600 mainstream clergy from around the state. Students in American government as well as history classrooms should learn about the First Amendment’s protections for religious freedom, Rev. Combs said. “Religion has played an important and positive role in American history, but it has been able to do so because government does not decide which faiths to promote and which to disfavor,” Rev. Combs said. “Students should graduate from Texas public schools understanding that important principle.”[/quote] Yes, the site I posted is "biased", but it has been extensively covering the lunacy of the SBOE's changes. Other sources out of Texas are aligned with the groups pushing these changes. However this event really did occur at the state capitol. Some of the wingnut groups supporting the SBOE changes sent a swift response. As the TFN responded, [url]http://tfninsider.org/2010/05/12/far-right-smears-clergy-from-press-conference/#more-7229[/url] [quote]Wow. It didn’t take long for far-right pressure groups to start smearing clergy members who want the Texas State Board of Education to stop trying to undermine religious freedom in social studies classrooms. Just minutes after the Texas Faith Network’s Capitol press conference today, the far right’s lies started flying across the Internet. Jonathan Saenz, a lawyer/lobbyist for Liberty Institute, the Texas affiliate of the far-right Focus on the Family, claimed that the Christian and Jewish clergy who spoke at the press conference “personally attack(ed) the Christian faith of some State Board of Education members.” Really, Jonathan? How? When? It should be no surprise that he didn’t offer a shred of evidence for such an absurd and reckless charge. (Folks shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for Saenz to apologize to those clergy men and women.) Saenz also had the gall to question the truthfulness of clergy speakers who want social studies classes to teach the truth about how the Founders barred government from promoting one religion over all others: “Their version of this concept [separation of religion and state] would have been rejected by the Founders. The problem for them is, their amendment language says this is what the Founders believed. Untrue and factually and historically inaccurate.” Unfortunately for Saenz, real historians (not propagandists like David Barton) strongly disagree. Moreover, as speakers pointed out at the press conference, members of the clergy themselves in America’s early years lobbied for protections for religious freedom like church-state separation. And Saenz also posted this ridiculous criticism of one speaker at the press conference: “One clergy member even slammed his hand down on the podium to make his point.” He “slammed his hand down”? Well, that’s just shocking! We wonder why the Capitol security simply didn’t have the minister arrested and led off in shackles. Of course, we wonder how Saenz could be so sure of what happened at the press conference since he kept walking out of the room. We can only assume he couldn’t be bothered to listen to what he later wanted to criticize. Dave Welch of the far-right Texas Pastor Council is hardly any better. Welch didn’t even attend the press conference, but he issued a press release harshly criticizing the clergy speakers for spreading “misinformation” from “anti-Christian attack groups like Texas Freedom Network.” Yes, that’s right — religious righters believe that anyone who doesn’t share their own narrow ideological perspective is somehow “anti-Christian.” (Never mind, we suppose, that two speakers at the press conference — a Baptist minister and a Methodist minister — sit on TFN’s board of directors.) But could Welch have been bothered to do at least a little research to get his historical facts right? At the end of his press release, Welch offered this nugget to suggest that the Founders wanted government to promote religion: “The Northwest Ordinance, passed in 1787 by the same Congress which presented the Bill of Rights for ratification, declared that ‘Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.’” Actually, that’s not accurate. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was passed by the Congress seated under the Articles of Confederation. The first federal Congress under the Constitution sent the Bill of Rights to the states for ratification more than two years later. And the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights forbids government from promoting or disfavoring any one religion over all others in America. That’s a fact some state board members, Liberty Institute and Dave Welch simply don’t want students to learn in their social studies classrooms.[/quote]

Christians pls go.

[QUOTE=Sparkwire;21931018]Christians pls go.[/QUOTE] What? Did you even read the post?

man I can't hear what those conservatives are saying, their mouth is too clogged with bullshit.

[QUOTE=Lambeth;21931114]man I can't hear what those conservatives are saying, their mouth is too clogged with bullshit.[/QUOTE] It's even worse reading their defenses of the proposed changes.

No. Far right white Texas Christians please go. You know something is fucked up when even the Religious interest groups oppose it.

[QUOTE=MercZ;21931104]What? Did you even read the post?[/QUOTE] It doesnt even matter. they are the root of it.

It's about time the church stood up to this BS in masse. The founding fathers would hold another revolution if they saw this crap going on. I don't know what I'll do if this country stoops any lower than it already has.

[QUOTE=Madman_Andre;21931252]No. Far right white Texas Christians please go. You know something is fucked up when even the Religious interest groups oppose it.[/QUOTE] Yes, it indeed is. The far-right religious groups are countering this however by saying that all these ministers are connected to the Texas Faith Network, which in turn is connected to the "liberal" Texas Freedom Network. [QUOTE=Sparkwire;21931291]It doesnt even matter. they are the root of it.[/QUOTE] A++ posting :downs: [QUOTE=Sega Saturn;21931363]It's about time the church stood up to this BS in masse. The founding fathers would hold another revolution if they saw this crap going on. I don't know what I'll do if this country stoops any lower than it already has.[/QUOTE] I hope that more would come out and join these guys. While they are leaders of their respective churches, it's hardly the entire Texas church network. Most of them have been fooled into supporting the SBOE changes as bringing back some moral fiber and pride for America.

[quote]“Our Founding Fathers understood that the best way to protect religious liberty in America is to keep government out of matters of faith,” said the Rev. Roger Paynter, pastor of Austin’s First Baptist Church. “But this state board appears hostile to teaching students about the importance of keeping religion and state separate, a principle long supported in my own Baptist tradition and in other faiths.”[/quote] gotta say i like this reverend.

The final vote for this is coming up on May 21st. They will have a final "debate" on May 19th.

[quote]Religion[/quote] Even though it's Texas' over-American, biased version of actual religion, it's ok. [quote]American exceptionalism[/quote] This basically is biased, infactual positivty to America (historical revisionism, etc.), so hell no.

[QUOTE=Madman_Andre;21931252]No. Far right white Texas Christians please go. You know something is fucked up when even the Religious interest groups oppose it.[/QUOTE] Agree

The duality of the american psyche baffles me sometimes. You claim you'll defend your constitution with your life, yet have no quarrels with special-interest groups slowly appending exceptions to every one of your amendments. Do you not see what is happening?

[QUOTE=Dr Magnusson;21951313]The duality of the american psyche baffles me sometimes. You claim you'll defend your constitution with your life, yet have no quarrels with special-interest groups slowly appending exceptions to every one of your amendments. Do you not see what is happening?[/QUOTE] It's ok when the special interest groups in question are god-fearing American patriots, however.

Fucking texas, man. I just don't know what to say. Why don't we just let them secede from the union already so they can stop giving the rest of us a bad name? They can be their own backwards retarded country, that wouldn't bother me at all. And we can even put up a gigantic fence around them and cut off all immigration from texas. Actually now that I think about it, they'll probably be the ones who put up the fence. And there'd probably be a redneck with an assault rifle at every ten feet along the fence. And a bunch of "no trespassing" signs everywhere. Also, has anyone but me ever noticed that you never see "no trespassing" signs on homes into which you'd actually want to trespass? It's always some beat up trailer or other white trash dwelling with random car parts in the yard. The kind of place nobody really ever wants to go to. Like [url=http://www.isa-sign.com/2004_signdesign/pics/Humorous3.jpg]this one[/url]. Maybe it's just where I live though. I hate rednecks so much. I bet that trailer's in Texas. And I bet whoever lives there supports the actions of the school board.

Well to be fair the people who have been relaying most of the news are Texans themselves, like the Texas Freedom Network. The issue comes in that many other states have. People are apathetic to local or state positions unless there is media hype. Most of the SBOE members need a handful of teabaggers or some other nut to vote them in and they can do their damage. A lot of people are woefully unaware of the idiotic nature of the SBOE.