Bad government wastes our taxes. Good government uses our taxes wisely. Good government finds creative solutions so there is a balance between what we give as tax payers and what we receive as citizens. When that balance is disturbed, we have things like recession and legalized thievery.

I think your fears about public education are misplaced. Sit down in a chair and consider all you the things you buy, things such as food, clothing, shelter, transportation, education, energy, and so forth. What happens the more the government gets involved?

We usually think of voting as a matter of electing public officials. However, every dollar you spend is also a vote. When you have a choice between products, that vote means something. When you don’t have a choice, all you can do is withhold your vote. Sometimes you have to buy. You need the product, and there is only one source. Then you pay through the nose.

Public education is monopoly. We pay taxes to support it. We are not even allowed the option of withholding our vote. Government takes our money by force. What free market entrepreneur or nonprofit can get away with that?

As it stands, at the very least, we can always protest and sue the government if we don’t like what they are doing. We can demand change and eventually attain it. We can’t do the same if we are under the thumb of a private entity that will just tell us to take it somewhere else. Sometimes, there is nowhere else to go. That’s a problem.

Belief systems and opinions are rooted in our pasts. They don’t just fall out of the sky. This is why I believe the personal is important. For example, I like knowing that a political candidate has been a veteran, and that is why he/she is a proponent of veterans’ rights. It helps me/us to understand where this person is coming from, why he/she believes these things are important, and what he/she would like to do about the issues. I am all about motives and the why.

This also works in the negative. If I am angry at those who run (and manipulate)higher education (which I have been at various times) there is usually a reason why, and those reasons are usually based on my experiences and beliefs. Many people share these experiences. Thus there is a common bond.

In any event, I don’t expect you to answer personal questions on a blog if you don’t want to. But the above is why I bring up the question of whether or not you ever had children in public schools–I’m not just trying to be nosy

We do not have school choice. What we have is an incomplete public school monopoly. Those parents with sufficient resources and gumption can avoid sending their children to private schools or home school their children. In other words, only the rich have school choice.

Nonetheless, advocates for the public school system say over and over and over again that we have a choice. That is just plain dishonest.

Initially, small communities banded together to hire teachers. Because it was the easiest thing to do, the small community schools became bigger as communities grew. Then the state stepped in to fund and regulate. Now Federal Government leaders, seeing the opportunity expand their powers and influence are stepping in. That is corrupt. The Federal Government has no constitutional authority. There is no need for Federal Government involvement.

Why do we continue with the public school system? I think the answers are inertia, fear, and greed. Initially, we had a need. Frontier societies had to maximize resources, but now we have more people. With our much larger population, private schools would provide much needed competition. We have replaced need with fear. We are afraid parents with other beliefs will make the “wrong” choices instead of the “right” choices. We also have greed. There are always people who benefit from the status quo.

Tom, I know you don’t talk about yourself, but I’m curious if you had kids in public school at any time. I went to both public and Catholic schools, so I’ve got a bit of personal perspective here. My kids are in public schools for many reasons, and I don’t think they are being hurt, so long as they are involved with our church, practicing their beliefs, and learning the best from those around them.

–I don’t like the idea of politicians dictating what our children learn, but that’s the reason we have the choice between public school and private or home school. If one disagrees with something, such as the teaching of evolution (or on the flip-side, the teaching of intelligent design), he may relocate his children to another school or teach his children at home. In public school, which is funded by the state, exercise of religion must not be a mandatory activity, nor must it be officially endorsed by the school. That opinion, I hold to with the utmost conviction, because of the number of people it affects, and because it leads to alienation and hostility in a school setting.–

I was also referring to those who condemn people who do NOT believe as they do. “Judge not lest you be judged.”

I hope you see the distinction I was trying to make.

I would just leave you with this thought. There are times we have to be against something, but we should not let what we are against dominate our thinking. What is far more important is what we are for.

What is brilliant about our society is that we each have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The more power we give government to stifle the choices of others, the more power we give government to stifle our own choices. If we want the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that means that we must allow others the right to make bad choices and fail.