P.C. History Text Books In Montgomery County A Problem

Political correctness, or the slant of the Left Wing, is in full effect in Montgomery County history books. A Houghton Mifflin history book was reported by the Baltimore Examiner's Leah Fabel in defining Jihad as "as a struggle "to do one's best to resist temptation and overcome evil." though to any versed person on current events and history it has a very different tone. These books will be in the curriculum in Montgomery County Schools.

The American Textbook Council's Gilbert Sewall was quoted "Textbook editors try to avoid any subject that could turn into a political grenade ,adjust[ing] the definition of jihad or sharia or remov[ing] these words from lessons to avoid inconvenient truths." Sewell is against these changes.

Life is packed with inconvenient truths. Countries, states, towns, religions, groups, and individuals. Germany has the Holocaust, the U.S. has the oppression of its African Americans, Catholics have the Spanish Inquisition, and so on. As terrible as these historical events and meanings have been the very nature of teaching the full face value of these truths is essential to the remembrance of history so we can recognize, interpret, and respond to future events properly.

Adjusting a definition for the goal of being politically correct is the same of lying and manipulating the truth is not a white harmless lie but a dangerous practice. Suppressing inherent meanings inhibits individuals to make a intelligent rational reasonable judgments in everyday life. Not being able to make a informed accurate decision resonates in our political realm and such acts, as not giving an accurate picture, in our present case in schools, leaves the implication of trying to force a certain agenda upon our youth. An agenda is pushed through by a lie. It is easier to convince someone of something when they don't have the full story and that results in ignorance. Ignorance has never lead anyone to somewhere good.

Truth is the truth and we cannot run away from the truth without doing something terrible. The very liberty of truth, whether inconvenient or not, is pinnacle to our way of life. Could the lessons of the Civil Rights movement be the same without teaching that lynchings took place to suppress rights for African Americans? Could we use the word lynching in any other way without hearkening back to that act? No. Then why do some feel the need to do this?

Everyone is afraid to offend someone. Well life is naturally offensive when everyone does not agree or something that has been done is remembered. The very association scares people and their response is to try and detach themselves away from the truth in some manner; either trying to change the truth or run away from truth. This is one reason.

The case at hand is a political agenda. Prolonged involvement in the Middle East is and has been a staple of American political life for years. Terrorism and states that sponsor anti-American Sentiment is a legitimate and real danger. Jihad is a term which has been reinforced over and over again as an attack through violence against infidels. Not all who practice Islam practice or believe in that path, but it still has that meaning both in the past, its' origin, and in the present. Teaching these definitions in reduced terms is not giving the proper credence to our situation and ultimately makes us blind to what is going on.

So I'll leave the question up to you to ponder and answer; where do you think this is going 5, 1o years down the line and will it be good?

Thanks to Leah Fabel from http://www.examiner.com/ for the story.

The Full Story can be found here http://www.examiner.com/a-1429570~Council__Mongtomery_schools_cave_to_pressue_with_Islam_book.html?cid=temp-popular