LibertyMinute November 1, 2013

In overtly totalitarian countries, official education is permeated with unabashed propaganda exalting the Dear Leader and the state over which he presides. Every subject, including spelling, mathematics, and science ? is turned into an exercise in passive indoctrination. This is increasingly common in proto-totalitarianAmerica, as well.

A parent of a ten-year-old child sent the Infowars news service a portion of a grammar test that was produced by Pearson Education, a contractor that designs instructional materials as part of the federal ?No Child Left Behind? program. One section of the test offered such statements as ?The commands of government officials must be obeyed by all,? and ?The wants of an individual are less important than the well-being of the nation.?

The New York Times reports that one of Pearson Education?s chief lobbyists is an official ?who served as the top White House liaison with Congress on drafting the No Child [Left Behind] law.? The corporation also operates a non-profit foundation that organizes junkets overseas for state education officials.

It is a testimony to the perversely inventive genius of some putative American capitalists that they find a way to profit from indoctrinating children to be reflexively submissive to the state.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.