“The U.S. Census Bureau has created a Census in Schools program called 2010 Census: It’s About Us. The program will provide educators with resources to teach the nation’s students about the importance of the census so children can help deliver this message to their families.” U.S. Census Bureau
Little Johnny sits attentively in his seat. Being in first grade, Johnny is very impressionable. And he really wants to please his teacher. So he gladly listens and repeats everything she says, taking it to heart as well as any young child can.
For her part, Ms. Jones believes in education. She hasn’t engaged in the debate over the role of government in schools. She just wants to help her students succeed as best she knows how.
So when she receives a package of lesson plans from the U.S. Census Bureau, Ms. Jones doesn’t even think to read between the lines. Instead, she decides to integrate the census into her social studies curriculum. It’s topical and her students seem interested.
Ms. Jones reads the first lesson plan and follows the instructions:
1. Write the words good neighbor, law, and responsibility on the board. Ask: What do these words mean?
2. Ask: Are you a good neighbor? What laws do you know about? What does it mean to be responsible? Encourage a classroom discussion that reinforces the concepts of being a good neighbor and civic responsibility. Make a list on the board of different laws with which students are familiar (e.g., wear a seat belt, children must go to school, drivers must stop at red lights, etc.). (emphasis in original)
She then continues with the lesson. At the end, Ms. Jones transitions into the wrap-up:
9. Write the sentence, “It’s about us” on the board. Discuss how it relates to the concept of being a good neighbor (if everyone is a good neighbor, our country will be a better place).
10. Have students create “good neighbor” badges. Distribute a sheet of colored paper to each student. Ask students to trace around their right hands to make a handprint.
11. Ask students to decorate their handprint badges with drawings that show how they are good neighbors. Use tape to attach the handprint badges to students’ shirts.
Little Johnny wants to please Ms. Jones, so he decorates his badge with a drawing of him helping his dad fill out a census form. He whispers to himself that he will try to be a good neighbor. And he will always remember her words, “A good neighbor is a person who does useful things for his or her neighborhood, town, and country.”
Next year, Johnny will nag his parents to complete the census form. And just like Sinatra’s character in The Manchurian Candidate, Johnny will react as instructed whenever he hears the phrase, “good neighbor.”
As an adult, Johnny (now going by John) will reflexively vote for local school issues, etc. He will support government in every way possible. Because to be a bad neighbor would disappoint Ms. Jones.
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Most teachers will groan and say something like: “What? Another damn addition to the curriculum? I don’t even have time to implement the changes to the changes that they just ordered in anticipation of a new set of requirements that are supposed to be handed down by the Obama Administration. Can’t my union stop this? Didn’t my union support Obama? We should be compensated for this extra time.”
from king herod onwards, what good has ever come from a census?
@newson: how about “The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative” Article I section 2, US constitution.
This seems like a poor hyperbole of education. I remember doing all sorts of stupid things in school similar to this that influenced my life far less than what my parents taught me through their actions and their rules. This would only really happen to the kids who have already been lost due to lack of parent involvement in their lives.
Not to say I appreciate all the lesson plans given by government, re: B.O’s speech….
Wayne, the constitution is just a piece of paper. It has no authority.
1. Write the words good neighbor, law, and responsibility on the board. Ask: What do these words mean?
“good neighbor” is when you give people your toys when you have more toys than them
“law” is when mommy and daddy tell you to give everybody the same amount of toys
“responsibility” is when you honor your mommy and daddy like a good boy and good girl so Santa Claus can put more toys in circulation
2. Ask: Are you a good neighbor?
Yes I am a good neighbor because I give people my toys when they don’t have as many toys as me.
What laws do you know about?
People have to let the government steal their toys, people have to accept the government’s monopoly money as payment, people can’t make whatever toys they want, people must hold on to stocks of failing toy businesses when they know they are failing and other people don’t (and people can’t invest in succeeding toy businesses when they know they are succeeding and other people don’t).
What does it mean to be responsible?
Being responsible means being a community organizer to help the least fortunate through minimum wage laws, socialist insecurity, food stamps, foreclosure bailouts, cash for clunkers, and universal health care. It also means reducing your CO2 footprint to prevent global warming.
nice blog..informative
nice blog..informative
to wayne:
have you not proved my point? the census still exists, prying into peoples’ lives, and yet the constitution is selectively ignored.
the census gives the monster eyes.
Wayne –
“This seems like a poor hyperbole of education. I remember doing all sorts of stupid things in school similar to this that influenced my life far less than what my parents taught me through their actions and their rules.”
Survivor bias. You are now reading Mises, et al.
The majority today does not accept the ideal of freedom. The reason (my reason): Long ago, most parents gave the education of their children to the state.
That societal views to government, liberty, et al, have changed to favor of state solutions should not come as a shock.
Of course, involved parents can still influence their children in the views of liberty. And the state is not perfect (as you and I prove). But fighting years of indoctrination is not an easy task. If it was easy, we would not consider ourselves to be survivors
Well, J. Fedako, only a Libertarian refers to ‘hating public speed limits whilst loving private speed limits’ as freedom.
one of many good reasons to home school your children
Gil:
Public speed limits are enforced at the end of a gun.
I remember how excited kids used to get in 4th grade when it was their turn to march up to the front office and recite the pledge of allegiance for the entire school to hear. I recall one kid throwing a swear word in there and promptly getting suspended for it. Many kids would accidentally screw up the wording and get ridiculed by peers for not knowing the pledge. Never once does it cross the mind of any 10 year old that there is something wrong here. The concept of propaganda isn’t even taught until middle-school when kids are “old enough” to learn about WWII and the German government brainwashing the minds of the public. Then our infallible government came in and saved the day.
Ya Wayne; it’s all on the parents now. Don’t be so naive, those parents were taught in the same system. Look at what mainstream opinion is about patriotism or anything opposing it. The majority of parents only help to reinforce the indoctrination going on in school.
As a foreign student in the US I used to be the only one in class sitting down during the pledge. No teacher ever said to me “at least you should stand up” (actually it meant no disrespect) but I heard some kids come to me whispering afterwards “you lucky bastard”. To many of those smarter kids, and despite the fact this was Mass. under Dukakis, it all seemed to be a big joke.
newson wrote:
“the census still exists, prying into peoples’ lives, and yet the constitution is selectively ignored.”
I thought census taking was explicitly specified in the Constitution as a means of apportioning representation in the House. How is a census then ignoring the Constitution? Or am I missing your point?
Anyone ever see those episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 with the “observers”. They are these beings that hold their brains on plates in front of them. They can not be harmed themselves, only their brains can.
Well…..
“Oww my brain. Ow ow ow. Oh my brain.”
And how better to fabricate employment numbers than to hire people to conduct the census?
Its a two-sided boondoggle: one side serves as a vehicle for propaganda and the other side camouflages some of the consequences of the economic terrorism of the unConstitutional coup.
to russ:
i should have been more forthcoming. this article makes the point better than i could hope to.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig8/barnett9.html
DixieFlatline says “the constitution is just a piece of paper. It has no authority.”
This is the deadend of nihilist subjectivism, this despicable contempt for the most powerful, practical defense of individual rights in history.
Well, if you’ve ever read Propaganda and the Formation of Men’s Attitudes written by Jacques Ellul this wouldn’t be a real shocker.
The entire purpose of a public school system isn’t to have “a more educated population.” At its very core, public education is a wing of the government that will, at the very least, precipitate social change through the principals of mass action. Even if they don’t get everyone, their intent is to get a statistically significant proportion of the overall populace.
So, let’s play a game that even little Johnny can understand. Connect the dots.
In Feb 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau is moved to the White House by the Obama administration.
In Sep 2009, Obama directly addresses students through a televised appearance which Johnny personally watches. This clearly demonstrates the president’s interest in “education.”
In Oct 2009, through the Census Bureau, the Obama administration directly modifies Johnny’s curriculum.
In Nov 2009, Obama teaches Johnny what it means to be a “good neighbor.”
Johnny finishes his lesson, goes home, and watches television. Obama then teaches him about volunteerism through state sponsored media initiatives.
*Instructors Note*
When the dots are connected, you should see a picture of Johnny being used.
For those of you still clinging to the constitution and the census as one of its “authorized” tools, I’d recommend visiting http://www.thirty-thousand.org
There, you’ll learn how the State capped the number of “representatives” to make it easier to centralize power, citing office space (!) as their concern.
If “representatives” were apportioned according to the dead paper known as the constitution, there’d be over 30,000 of them in that stink hole known as DC.
Oops – misinformation given…
It’d be over 6,000 cockroaches in DC, not 30,000.
The 30,000 number is the people per rep figure from the articles of confederation.
Thirty-Thousand.org advocates replacing 435 politician-oligarchs with several thousand citizen representatives. To illustrate the point, read about California vs. New Hampshire in “Freedom and Legislative District Sizes“:
The constitution, like any document attempting to limit central authority, failed with the subjectivity of definitions. Aside from the clear and blatant acts dismantling the effectiveness of the constitution, we can still see why any such document is left open to interpretation. Any attempts at minarchy will inevitably fail. No monopoly in authority can exist; if we assert that they should simply protect property and individual liberty, the definition of individual liberty and property, and protection will continuously be adjusted to the ruler’s liking. The constitution is nothing to be proud of; today it is nothing more than a last resort in attempting to limit government power. Yet constitutional arguments throughout the history of this country have proven increasingly irrelevant in the political sphere.
I thought census taking was explicitly specified in the Constitution as a means of apportioning representation in the House. How is a census then ignoring the Constitution?
If that’s the case, then all the Census needs to find out is the number of people living in the house districts and nothing else: they don’t need ages, genders, race, occupations, incomes, religious orientations, family relations, etc. etc. Instead, we’re told the Census is important for a variety of things: welfare, educational funding, and other government spending and redistribution. Ergo, the Constitution is ignored.
Sean A is a whim-worshipping anarchist, not a defender of individual rights, ie, capitalism. See Ayn Rand’s _Capitalism_ in which objective value is identified as the base of capitalism.
Stephen, it seems clear that Sean A is an anarchist, but he appears to be attacking whim-worship, not supporting it. Which whims do you think he worships?
Also you failed to address his point about the Constitution. Is it truly a legal document based upon objective values, or is it just another piece of paper that ‘legitimizes’ the coercion of some people over others? And how about those Amendments, eh?
Stephen – there is no such thing as “objective” value. All values are subjective. Any other value theory is simply logically inconsistent.
Clem:
Sean A says the Constitution is subjective and he has no alternative. Since man’s survival requires objectivity, ie, that he choose to logically focus his mind onto concrete reality, subjectivism is destructive, regardless of the particular whims of any particular subjectivist. Even an objective value, eg, capitalism, that is whimsically chosen by a subjectivist, eg, libertartians, will be whimsically rejected when he later recognizes that it conflicts with his later whims. Objectivity requires ideological objectivity, in every situation. Lacking objectivity as an absolute, subjectivists have no objective way to choose between objectivity and whims in any particular situation. Concrete reality has no safe place for whims. Rain dances and voodoo and whim-worshipping, anarchist libertarianism are not objective methods for man’s survival.
The Constitution’s defense of individual rights is a product of man’s mind, not faith, tradition, consensus or whim. Its flaws can be corrected with Rand’s systematic objectivity.
averros:
Mises (HA, p96) correctly rejects intrinsic values, ie, values allegedly in reality. But he errs in claiming subjective values, ie, values “within us.” He says that value is the way in which man reacts to the environment. This is close to Rand’s value objectivity, ie, a rational evaluation of reality. This objectivity, not the pseudo-objective intrinsicism, known by an alleged intuition, of the mystics. Mises was a jumble of Aristotle and Kant. Rand abstracted the Aristotle part.
The problem with the Constitution is there is no way to enforce it.
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