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- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Cal Thomas
Raise your hand if you believe government has too little involvement in our lives. Put down your hands, members of the Obama administration.
During a previous political uprising in the 1980s, academic institutions managed to fend off conservative attacks on some of the subjects taught on their campuses -- from "peace studies" to kinky sexual practices, to bad history -- with cries of "academic freedom." Where are those cries now that the federal government is on the verge of regulating the content of subject matter on college campuses and changing the way these institutions are accredited?
According to the
Former U.S. Senator Bill Armstrong, now president of
Armstrong says the attempt by the government to regulate curricula "is part of an unprecedented power grab in which government has already moved to dominate such industries as automobiles, energy, health care, banking, home loans and student loans -- and now seeks dominance over the colleges and universities themselves."
Two Colorado Republican congressmen, Doug Lamborn and Mike Coffman, have also sent letters to DOE in which they noted the proposed ruling would undermine "long-established independent accrediting agencies" (Lamborn) and potentially involve the government "in setting course requirements, quality measures, faculty qualifications and various mandates about how and what to teach." (Coffman).
Imagine the outcry if someone identified with the tea party movement had made similar demands of a Republican administration concerning what is taught at
Conservatives have long believed that most universities are part of an "iron triangle" (along with big media and government) that keeps liberals and secularists in power. Controlling what is taught in schools, rather than encouraging true academic freedom, has been a successful strategy for shaping -- some would say twisting -- young minds and directing them in accordance with what statists and "living constitution" advocates believe.
If imposing outside agendas -- from textbook content to course selection -- is supposedly bad when conservatives do it (mostly in reaction to the liberal assault on any ideas that conflict with theirs), why is it not equally onerous when liberals push for state control and the dictation of course content at private colleges and universities?
It's going to take more than one college president and two congressmen writing a letter to the secretary of education about this latest attempted government power grab. More members of
This should not be confused with the liberal-secularist view of the world, which is what those behind this regulation apparently want to impose on students and their parents who, in many cases, are footing the bill and too often contributing to the destruction of young minds.
Available at Amazon.com:
Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future
The Backlash: Right-Wing Radicals, High-Def Hucksters, and Paranoid Politics in the Age of Obama
The Disappearing Center: Engaged Citizens, Polarization, and American Democracy
The Virtues of Mendacity: On Lying in Politics
Bush on the Home Front: Domestic Policy Triumphs and Setbacks
The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House
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