Let’s be honest

Let’s all be honest and clearly state our beliefs and intentions, starting with ourselves, and then expecting such clarity in, say…the media and government. It sounds radical, doesn’t it? That’s because disinformation is so common that it’s expected.

My Marine friend Carmen (former Marine, but hey, once a Marine…) has a blog on which he tries to live his motto: “Say what you mean and mean what you say.” You don’t have to agree, he says, but at least think about it.

I’ve been proposing that for a long time — call things what they are, and let’s have an honest discussion. Liberal media should declare the beliefs their editorial staff holds, conservative media the same, and let news consumers get good coverage of all sides of a story. Opinion polls should ask the public what they think, not tell them by loading the questions.

Politicians would serve us better if they stopped spinning talking points to appeal to the broadest population, and tailoring their principles to the demands of powerful interest groups. If liberals firmly believe their principles are best, make the case proudly for liberalism and be clear about it. Let conservatives be boldly honest about why they stand for their values. Let’s have clearly defined arguments, and encourage critical thinking skills and intellectual reasoning.

What prompted this little ‘Alice in Wonderland’ outburst?

Yet another offense to the sensibilities, coming out of San Francisco. Surely you’ve heard and seen this on the news.

Reading, writing and anti-militarism? That may soon be the case in San Francisco where a new comic book pushing a political point of view is raising serious questions.

Ronald Reagan hugging Osama Bin Laden, corporate America celebrating the spoils of war, a cartoon view of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal isn’t off limits in this comic book — “Addicted to War — Why the U.S. Can’t Kick Militarism.”

It’s an undisputedly leftist view of the United States involvement in wars, and it may soon come to classrooms in San Francisco public schools.

Why do these things get so far in San Francisco?

Frank Dorrel, Publisher, “Addicted to War”: “We’re really glad that the San Francisco School District, which is apparently against the war in Iraq, well not apparently, obviously is, has chosen to do this.”

Wait a minute. The San Francisco School District has no business being publicly for or against the war. They are in the business of educating children in a classic curriculum. But they’re wedging in their own particular biases with radical materials perfectly acceptable to them if it agrees with their leftist agenda.

Frank Dorrel is now helping to supply the San Francisco Unified School District with 4,000 copies of the book for use in high school social studies and history classes. The books are being donated by a local anti-war activist.

Frank Dorrel: “It’s important to show once again – the alternative history of U.S. foreign policy — of U.S. wars, of U.S. militarism.”

Alternative to what?

At least they’re getting some pushback.

Leo Lacayo: “You need to focus in on both sides of the issue in order for students to create their own opinion.”

That would be encouraging academic inquiry. Doesn’t fit with the agenda.

What would the San Francisco Unified (unified?) School District do with, say…a donation of 4,000 copies of a ‘comic book’ mocking homosexuals the way these mock a former president and presidential administrations? Or maybe books giving high school students an alternative to abortion in particular, or liberalism in general? Would they be distributed as an important supplement to whatever else they’re learning?

Lacayo is not the only one challenging this move.

Col. Robert Powell, S.F. Junior ROTC: “We wouldn’t have this United States if it wasn’t for this revolutionary army to fight against England to be the United States. And like I said we’d probably have slavery if we didn’t have the civil war.”

Colonel Powell has run the San Francisco Junior ROTC program since 1983.

The San Francisco School Board voted to phase out the program last November, the board, taking a political position, says public schools are no place for the military.

But they’re evidently the place for anti-military propaganda.

Colonel Powell says “Addicted to War” could be a valuable classroom tool, but he’s concerned purely political ideology may cloud how teachers present the book.

Robert Powell: “You can put this out to stimulate discussion, and in fact use it to get discussion going in a good civics class, you know what I mean, but you (have got) to have two opposing points of view.”

That’s the reasonable approach, and no one of any intellectual honesty should argue with that proposal. If they do, let’s hear the argument.

Meanwhile:

Leo Lacayo: “We’re not teaching them — we’re basically washing their brains with liberal mish-mash.”

Frank Dorrel: you can’t make someone believe something — you can offer them the information and that’s what we are doing here.”

The way they’re doing it is called indoctrination. Let’s at least be honest about that.