….and your children would be free from ideological pressures as they learned the ‘three R’s,’ comes news to disabuse you of such an idea.
As we think we’ve told you in the past, our own political inclinations are pretty well known in these here parts, but we’ve worked hard to see that with only a rare, justified exception, Other Side avoids dabbling in political partisanship and posturing, or even editorial comment. Every now and then, however, some locally relevant piece of news causes us to dabble in such pursuits, if only to chastise the behavior of others.
This is one of those rare moments. Clearly we’re in days and weeks of all sorts of political fallout from the recent election, and the shock it visited upon so many. Bowdoin College students, faculty, and administration are in a phase of near melt-down several notches above their quiescent level of hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing over various and sundry injustices and grievances as they ensure every graduate (well, most, anyway) feel either a profound sense of victimhood or guilt. Safe spaces were beyond capacity, hot chocolate and play dough supplies were exhausted, and other stressful consequences are still evident more than a month later. No one has scheduled “How to Grow Up” seminars, though we believe that could be a growth industry on college campuses these days.
On the Town side of the Town and Gown mix, we’re convinced that the uptick in activity related to the Brunswick Human RIghts Task Force owes much to the election outcome. Councilor Kathy Wilson’s appearance on a WGME video report (Kathy Wilson on WGME) clearly stems from the results.
As for us, it’s taken a mightly dose of self-control to keep us from filing a complaint with the Task Force aserting that HRC and Bernie bumper stickers and yard signs were visible acts of micro-agression and micro-invalidation aimed directly at us. We can only imagine how scared we would have been by public reactions if we had worn a Trump MAGA hat while patronizing local establishments.
Many of us remember what was labeled Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS) after the election of George W. Bush, which lingered as a chronic inflammation in many forms all during his years in office, and for many years thereafter. We fully expect that Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS), or its related malady, Trump Hysteria Disorder (THD), will prove to be a far more virulent and difficult to cure social disease. You do remember what a ‘social disease’ is, don’t you?
Nowadays, they’re called STDs, or sexually transmitted diseases. We’re guessing the diseases we mentioned in the prior paragraph will be grouped under the heading STD’s as well, but meaning socially transmitted diseases for the new era of diagnostics..
Enough setting the stage. Let’s introduce the star of this post:
You can find the entire item here:
We’ll limit our comments on the subject to these:
- Why hasn’t basic civics been a part of the core curriculum all along? What replaced it, and what was the justification for doing so?
- Superintendent PP’s proclivities in such matters are on the record, as the article describes, when he couldn’t keep his mouth shut, per this passage:
“This is not the first time Perzanoski has publicly criticized conservative education policy. In an Augusta 2012 welcome letter to staff, “Perzanoski took aim at Republican Gov. Paul LePage.”
- If you think the Super will be able to implement a new policy that doesn’t embody his own liberal leanings, and that of the preponderance of the professional educational staff and related bureaucracy, you need to go ‘back to school’ yourself, but one more suited to objective, unbiased, adult learning.
Please remember; we’re dealing with a special place here, not ‘everytown USA.’ These passages provide additional insight; we hope you take the time to read the entire linked item:
Perzanoski implied that Trump’s election threatens students with diverse heritage or beliefs.
“[The election] does not dictate that an equal opportunity for every student will be lost because of his/her heritage or beliefs,” he wrote.
As Maine’s political dynamics shift, Brunswick remains solidly liberal and loyal to the Democratic Party. The town’s voters overwhelmingly backed Democrat Hillary Clinton in this year’s presidential election, with Trump earning less than 30 percent of the vote there.
And we must ensure and protect the freedom of speech and freedom of thought of our future citizens, or else!
“Regardless of our political persuasions, we must help each other and listen to one another as we move forward,” wrote Perzanoski, who could not be reached this morning for comment.
How else can we ensure that the electoral traditions and ideological bent of our perfect little town endure?
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