The silent majority against Republicans’ moral panic on schools
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
www.washingtonpost.com /opinions/2022/04/14/silent-majority-gop-moral-panic-schools/
The silent majority against Republicans’ moral panic on schools
Paul Waldman 4-5 minutes 4/14/2022
Just as Americans tend to hate Congress but like their own member of Congress , it has long been true that people are much happier about their own children’s schools than about the country’s education system. For instance, a Gallup poll last year found only 42 percent of parents saying they were satisfied with the country’s schools, while 73 percent of them said they were satisfied with the education their own children were getting.
Of course, there are many reasons one might be unhappy with our education system: underfunding, inequality, class sizes, early start hours, to name a few. Or indoctrination on race and sexuality that conflicts with your values: To hear Republicans tell it, fed-up citizens are standing up to leftist teachers and school administrators who have been infecting little ones’ minds with unpatriotic historical revisionism and outré social theories.
But what if most Americans don’t actually believe that? A new poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research suggests a genuine silent majority of people who think what’s happening in schools is just fine — and many of them believe there should be more discussion of race and sexuality.
These are not people we hear much from at the moment, when conservatives have successfully whipped up a very loud moral panic over how race and sex are discussed in schools. But consider some of the poll’s findings:
By 58 percent to 12 percent, Americans oppose “prohibiting books about divisive topics from being taught in schools.” (The rest are undecided.)
By 53 percent to 21 percent, they oppose “prohibiting teachers from teaching about sex and sexuality in schools.”
71 percent say their local school system is either focusing too little on racism or focusing the right amount, while just 27 percent say it is focusing on it too much.
71 percent also say teachers in their local schools are either discussing issues related to sex and sexuality the right amount or not enough. Only 23 percent say teachers are discussing sex and sexuality too much.
But isn’t the anger we’re seeing explode at school board meetings real? Yes, in the sense that a political phenomenon can be simultaneously organic and manufactured. There are some genuinely angry parents, but the school panic has been planned and promoted by powerful right-wing interests and media outlets.
In fact, the person most responsible for creating the critical race theory panic, Christopher Rufo of the Manhattan Institute, recently told an audience that conservatives should work to create “universal public-school distrust.”
That effort has borne significant fruit in the form of state legislation aimed at silencing and intimidating teachers and school officials. But it doesn’t seem to have convinced most Americans that there’s much left-wing indoctrination on race and sex going on in their schools.
Which is why it’s so important that Democrats not just try to change the subject when Republicans promote their moral panics, but actively push back on them. Not only would it be the right thing to do, but it could also be an extremely effective midterm election strategy, both to convince independent voters that giving Republicans more power is dangerous, and to motivate Democratic voters to get to the polls.
Yet that’s not happening. Democrats have decided that they’ll focus their midterm message on “deliverables,” i.e., all the good things they’ve done for their constituents in the past year. Which doesn’t sound like a particularly compelling argument. There’s nothing wrong with telling people what you’ve done for them, but the biggest story out of Congress in recent months was the failure of most of the Biden legislative agenda in the form of the Build Back Better bill. While “We’ve done some good stuff!” might be factually true, it’s unlikely to get Democratic voters stampeding to the polls.
Eventually, the right-wing furor over race and sex in schools will fade, as these moral panics always do. But before it does, Republicans might do a great deal of damage to the nation’s schools. If only the other party would stand in their way.
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Exactly, it certainly worked well last Fall in Virginia. Terry McAuliffe brought in the big stars to push back on the novice candidate, President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, President Barack Obama, Stacey Abrams and Speaker Nancy Pelosi all came to Virginia to convince voters that Repubs can't be trusted. Terry then delivered the coup de grâce at a debate with, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what to teach”.
Those moron parents are protesting something that isn't happening. republicans and the alleged conservatives who are the republicans nowadays/the gop/gqp ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED.
Seems like you put a lot of trust into the republicans. Or is that your wryness and not your alleged conservativism shining through?
And they elected a governor.
Seems like you put a lot of trust into the republicans.
That's just your bias getting the better of you.
Another gqp turd who rode the wave of the big lie of the republicans/gop/gqp/alleged conservatives about something that isn't even being taught!
who rode the wave
Do you see another wave on the horizon heading here by Nov?
Not a red one
Maybe you should wear a raincoat and galoshes, just in case
The removal of Title 42 policy on the border without adequate preparations and alternative control measures will be enough of a wedge to tip the Senate red.
Thank Abbott for that fuck up - can't blame President Biden for that - but of course - you will.
WHAT fuck up are you specifically referring to regarding Abbott?
Abbott had NOTHING to do with Biden's and Democrats' open border policies!
God, please tell me you don't believe a governor sets immigration policy!
Beto O’Rourke knocks Biden for ending Title 42 without a plan to deal with influx of migrants
“The administration is acting without a detailed plan. This is the wrong way to do this and it will leave the administration unprepared for a surge at the border,” SEN Cortez Masto, the Senate's first Latina.
Kelly, Sinema, Bipartisan Group of Senators Introduce Bill Delaying End of Title 42, Ensuring Coordination and Communication with Arizona Border Communities
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes opposes Biden administration's plan to lift Title 42 rule at the border
Wanna bet someone here just blows them all off as DINOs??????
LOL!
M'kay
Your single word comments are your best, keep it up.
Better than trying to blame a governor for Biden's fuck up!
[deleted]
Lol .... you had enough yet?
You are a clever one, Tessylo, very clever.
Can anyone have enough of Tessylo’s wisdom and clever retorts?
You'll have to do without me for a while - I'm off to the hair dresser to get my do done
What will you do while I'm gone?
What will you do while I'm gone?
I’ll miss you of course, but I understand your need to do the do. Please remember to wear a mask.
Sometimes one word can say more than an entire sentence.
Exactly and Tessylo is a master.
I think moving to high ground would be a better choice.
You forgot the /s after that post.
Please try to convince Democrats about this not being important and they should continue to tell parents they have no place wanting a say in what their children are taught. Please.
Please tell every parent they can all pick the curriculum they want for their kids.
It seems they are making it loud and clear that the want some input. I don't believe they are saying they want complete control over all aspects.
It seems strange that some people have such an issue with parents being more involved with their kids education.
Parents have always had input.
It seems strange to me that all the sudden the right wing is claiming the left has ruined public schools, we must save our children from leftist indoctrination.
If you don't see this is all a political ploy...
Parent haven’t been paying attention. The Pandemic changed that.
A silver lining to COVID-19
Well first off it is not just right wing, it is plenty of independents.
It is obvious. Parents were assuming their kids were being taught things like reading, writing, history, arithmetic and stuff like that. My daughter who is a first grade teacher has been saying for years she would be lucky to have 50% of the parents show up to parent teachers conferences.
Then covid hit and parents got a birds eye view of some of the things their kids were being taught and decided it was time to get more involved. My daughter said over 80% of the parents are showing up to parent teacher conferences in her district now and more are showing up to board meetings and the left wing would have you believe that is a bad thing.
And what did the parents get for trying to be more involved with their own children? Well it goes from being called terrorists to being told they have no right to have any say in what their own children are being taught to being called racists to trying to convince them that what they saw over their children's shoulders while they were being taught at home was not what they were really seeing.
Yet you think they are all part of some kind of political ploy......
Uh huh. And what were they seeing over their shoulders?
You can claim they are all innocent all you want, doesn't change the fact that we have all seen videos of crackpots interrupting school meetings with crackpot theories.
I have yet to see even one example of what you all claim.
Still waiting.
And, if you are not aware of the right wing ploy to take over school boards, look it up.
Then you refuse to see it. Have a good day
No, you just have nothing to show.
It seems you can't even tell me what these so called articles say...
Can't even link to one....
All these false paedophile "Groomer" accusations the damn gop is now recklessly throwing around are bloeing up in their dumb ugly hateful faces. False accusations that our public school teachers are paedophiles grooming our children as their prey are as lowdown as hell, even for the damn gop!
That is some hateful rhetoric you are spewing while accusing republicans of being hateful.
It's the old pot and kettle thing....
False accusations of paedophilia are about as abominable as imaginable. No wonder the once Grand Old Party of Abraham Lincoln is now known merely as the gop?
Oh, OK, I guess that makes your hateful rhetoric OK somehow? While I do hear a few fringe people making statements like that it is disingenuous to accuse all people of the GOP buying into it. It would be like saying all democrats are socialists because of what AOC says.
If you are mired in the gop you should get out!
Deflection noted
Or the new version "It's OK when we do it, we have right on our side".
There is no low too low for today's gop/gqp/alleged conservatives to sink to . . . . .
That should be put to music
Silent majority? Funny!
This poll is a joke but don’t take my word for it. You’ll find that out the hard way later this summer and fall.
Buckle up buttercups!
Except, dissatisfied voters are not turning right...
Where do you think they are turning to?
I’m not the one who is confused here. The question is if the confusion is planned or just out of ignorance. I’ll give the benefit of doubt and say it’s planned.
The triggered better stock up on Prep-h. Their rear end inflammation meters will be pegged this fall. Right past the stops .....
Towards people they don’t know, who are telling them how to raise their kids and shaming them along the way. Makes perfect sense .....
I'm not the one denying this poll. You are...
Opinions on that polls veracity do vary
You can't forget they are also the ones telling them not to believe what they see with their own eyes.
And what are these parents seeing?
Well we can agree on that. Oh let's not forget.
The Democrats are propping up just how bad the schools suck!
That says absolutely nothing about CRT, etc. being taught in schools.
You mean it hasn't made it to CNN and MSNBC at all?
I notice the one that was asked the question has no answer.
So again, what are parents seeing?
That's something that they cannot answer.
My God, man, have you LOOKED at the polls?
SMMFH
Who in the hell is talking about CRT?????
So again You mean it hasn't made it to CNN and MSNBC at all?
So I guess for the third time, you have zero examples to back up any claims.
Edited just to say, sorry, I don't watch cable news.
It has been all over the news. Not only that I have seen the question asked and answered at least a couple dozen times on NT. Since you obviously have seen the information you either refuse to read it or are in denial and are playing the usual liberal game of "Prove it, I don't like your sources/don't believe it anyway". I don't want to play, if you are truly interested try reading past NT posts or use Google and find it yourself. If you just want to say I can't give examples go ahead, but everyone can easily see through you.
So once again, zero evidence to back up your claim.
Where has this been answered? I have seen several people ask for evidence and never get a response.
And if you are so obsessed with saying it hadn't made it to CNN or MSNBC, then I take it your so called news on this comes from fox...
What people can easily see through is the inability to document proof.
Standard liberal ploy when they refuse to see what is right in front of their face and have been shown dozens of time.
Once again, you have shown nothing. Absolutely zero. Only your claims.
A Liberal ploy?
You are not down the center, except for maybe the center of the republican party.
By the way, if it was shown 'dozens of times' then it should not be that hard to show where....
Ignorance is bliss with some folks.
Then some people here live in a constant state of bliss.
Yes
So then I guess it is a republiucan ploy to claim things without evidence?
Wrong guess.
Still waiting on dozens of proof....
Look for it yourself (let google be your friend) or keep saying it doesn't exist because you need to be spoon fed information that you will disbelieve anyway.
Now it is your turn to say "you made the claim, you have to provide proof (that I will either ignore or say it is not true)".
Liberals are predictable.
Really? So you can't show your so called proof and blame me...
Not bad, just a variation of "you made the claim, you have to provide proof (that I will either ignore or say it is not true)".
I can show proof to anyone with an open mind. Some here don't qualify so I don't bother, especially if it has been supplied to them before. But if they are really interested they can easily find it, but they would rather complain that they are not being spoon fed the information so it must not exist. So it is obvious you don't have any curiosity or desire to learn something new. Pretty juvenile Reminds me of asking my father how to spell a word and he would say look it up. In the liberal world that would mean he is not telling you because he doesn't know.
So now you are just making excuses.
Liberal Logic:
A=B
B=C
Therefore A= Q. H, F or anything I want it to.
Just admit you have nothing to show me. Would save a lot of time.
Ah, another liberal ploy. When all else fails try to bully people into admitting something that is not true. Gonne call me a racist next?
Liberal Logic:
A=B
B=C
Therefore A= Q. H, F or anything I want it to.
Now I am a bully because you cannot show proof of claims?
This is nuts.
Denial is not going to save them this summer and fall.
Another liberal meltdown is coming ..... en masse .... it will be epic
Something to add to my liberal meltdown videos starting with trumps victory. I might need a bigger hard drive to store them all.
Half way through the article it mentions "The poll didn’t ask about specific grade levels." Really, you don't think that is important? That just makes the opinion article based on a poll that means nothing.
Like I said, this poll is a joke. It’s pure propaganda.
Its going to be U G L Y this summer and fall for folks pushing crap like this. The meltdowns will likely be epic, even by 2016 standards
This really highlights that some people don't learn from their mistakes or the past. After an hour or two of introspection after their trouncing in Virginia they went right back to blaming racists.
Funny from the party that tries to silence anyone that they don't agree with under the banner of "disinformation"
Where does calling them racist and ignorant fall into educating them?
Wasn't he part of the "reign of terror?"
He was swept away with the moment and lost his head.
You got that backwards, as usual.
Name one liberal or liberal organization banned from Twitter
"Name one liberal or liberal organization banned from Twitter"
They're not known for doing whatever the fuck they please regardless of what the rules and terms of agreement of use are. We don't violate the terms/rules and terms of agreement and of use of a privately owned company/platform and then endlessly whine and piss and bitch and moan when we're banned for doing so.
Right, none.
And then the liberals bitch and moan that people should be banned because they are disseminating "disinformation" or "Misinformation" and accuse them of violating terms of service which are only applicable to the right and ignored for the left. The left obviously found a new phrase. What used to be difference of opinion is now "disinformation that must be stopped at all costs or we will lose our democracy!" The left sure are a hoot. Misguided but a hoot.
Really? I am taking about things that you yourself have said, often .
Someone for the liberals to look up to
yea, yea, yea
You are quoting Robespierre!!!!!
pol pot next?
Excuse me - it's an expression for fuck's sake. Who cares who said it?
It’s not an expression. The sky is blue is an expression. You cited one of history’s greatest monsters as an authority.
[deleted]
It's a quote, not an expression.
Who cares who said it?
Quotes are properly attributed to the author.
She loves you, yea, yea, yea
She loves you, yea, yea, yea
She loves you, yea, yea, yea, yea
John Winston Lennon / Paul James McCartney
You should give the original writers credit, even if you only copy some of their words.
I didn't claim he was any kind of authority.
I quoted his quote.
Whatever the fuck he said - I repeated it.
JFC
No shit Sherlock?
Another rhetorical question.
Indubitably.
[deleted]
Whatever he said, you mean you don't know?
So that leaves you and my detractors out of the equation
Public schools shouldn't be teaching revisionist false history about race, and have no business teaching kids about sexuality. Parents have had enough.
Having observed your comments for the past few years, I have no doubt whatsoever that [deleted] are completely ignorant of the true history of race in America.
Show me where this is happening. Links please.
All these polls avoid asking the fundamental question. Should public schools be teaching morality?
Let's be honest. The teaching of race and sexuality is not about presenting facts or history. The facts and history only provide a framework for teaching moral judgements, moral attitudes, and moral behavior. What is really being taught are concepts of 'good' and 'bad', 'right' and 'wrong'. But whose morality is the basis for what is being taught?
Philosophy isn't being taught any longer. So, students are not being provided the means and methods to formulate their own moral judgements. The facts and history used to teach 'good' and 'bad', 'right' and 'wrong' are a matter of rote learning which is little more than indoctrination.
Religious texts have been completely banned from schools. So, opposition to banning books is rather hypocritical; book banning is an accomplished fact. And the moral concepts in those banned books are simply not allowed in classrooms. So, whose morality is the basis for what is being taught?
Parents today are products of an educational system that has been deteriorating for many decades. Parents today have not been provided the means and methods to think for themselves. They recognize that something is wrong but have been so poorly educated that they cannot identify what is wrong. That's why these polls can get away with avoiding the most important, fundamental question. Should public schools be teaching morality using methods of rote learning (and indoctrination)? Whose morality is the basis for what is being taught?
Yet, American public schools do teach kids about citizenship and for us actual Americans that is all about tolerance, inclusion and especially equality...
How do we achieve tolerance, inclusivity, and equality without morality? Should public schools be teaching morality? Whose morality is the basis for what is being taught?
Philosophy is no longer being taught. And religious texts and religious moral concepts have been totally banned. Schools have become institutions of exclusive inclusivity, intolerant tolerance, and a preferential equality.
What all the polling suggests is that people recognize something is flawed about what we are teaching students. But people have been so poorly educated, themselves, that they can't identify the flaw. Our system of education is broken but we don't know how and we don't know what to do about it.
The Democrats and left must have flunked those courses; or been absent every day. One major part about citizenship is respecting our laws, borders, and heritage.
You are an actual American? Then what the hell of the rest of us that think you are full of shit? Are we unactual Americans? Pseudo Americans? Anti Americans? You are showing so much damn "tolerance" for those that don't agree with you. Which party is it again that is trying to restrict free speech by forcing social media to remove material it finds offensive? "Inclusion" we have seen how damn inclusive the Democrats are with their new two tier justice system. "Equality" meaning "free shit" for the left and screw everyone else.
That is when it is hard to take you seriously
What does your opinion of me have to do with the fact that Americans celebrate diversity, inclusion and equality as citizenship ideals?
Read 5.1.2
Neither is Civics.
If they aren’t getting it at home which many aren’t, they aren’t getting it anywhere.
No wonder many younger folks are sitting on their fat asses doing nothing or spending their summers protesting/looting working people and businesses.
Pardon my French, but why are these social conservatives such giant pussies? The hysteria over what goes on - or doesn’t - in schools just blows my mind. These people call themselves Christian, but it’s hard to see any Christ in them. Christ was courageous. And gracious. He didn’t tell people to fear ideas.
If I am curious or concerned about what is going on in school, I have a simple tool for that. I talk to my kids. I reason with them. I listen to what they think, and they listen to what I think. We have a conversation. I therefore have no fear of what a teacher might cover in the class. And if I still have concerns, I can have more conversations - with the teacher, or a counselor, or an administrator.
We are Christians in our house and we are not afraid.
Pardon my French, but why are these social conservatives such giant pussies
Which words did you think were French?
I guess I could have said “Pardon my German.”
You can say anything here, Tacos, within reason, of course.
I'm sure the "silent majority" support the National Council of Teachers of English plan to "Decenter book reading and essay writing" while pushing students to "examine the cultural, ideological, and sociolinguistic content of the curriculum and focus on the uses of literacy for social justice in marginalized and disenfranchised communities"
don't want to teach kids to read, it hurts the drive for "equity"
Or ditching grading on the quality of work because that favors "white supremacy"
Good luck with that.