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Dear Mr. Stephenson:
I read a story on the net a few days ago about how
you are using some unusual and controversial source
material in the 623-student Cary Christian School
you run for students from kindergarten all the way
through 12th grade. The 43-page booklet that put you
into the national spotlight is called "Southern
Slavery as it Was." Based upon the quotes I saw,
it is a startling revisionist polemic for the proposition
that slavery was no more offensive than a ride on
"Pirates of the Caribbean" at Disneyland.
Here are some excerpts from the booklet:
"Slavery as it existed in the South was not
an adversarial relationship with pervasive racial
animosity. Because of its dominantly patriarchal character,
it was a relationship based upon mutual affection
and confidence." (page 24)
"There has never been a multi-racial society
which has existed with such mutual intimacy and harmony
in the history of the world." (page 24)
"Slave life was to them a life of plenty, of
simple pleasures, of food, clothes, and good medical
care." (page 25)
"But many Southern blacks supported the South
because of long established bonds of affection and
trust that had been forged over generations with their
white masters and friends." (page 27)
"Nearly every slave in the South enjoyed a higher
standard of living than the poor whites of the South—and
had a much easier existence." (page 30)
I certainly applaud your efforts to get your students
to think for themselves, and to present more than
one side to an issue. Teaching children how to deconstruct
specious reasoning and encouraging them to challenge
unsubstantiated opinions presented as facts is the
most important thing you could possibly teach them.
Christian schools have a bad rap for that failing
to do that sort of thing, you know. And I think it
is fine to dare your students to be outraged and to
refute what they are taught—essential even.
You were quoted as saying that "A student may
be assigned an opinion they may not agree with, so
they will understand both sides." I couldn't
agree more, sir. The way to create intellectually
curious citizens who have the tools to challenge simplistic
pabulum from their teachers, their church or their
government is to expose them to a wide range of opinions
and ideas, including those we may disagree with.
So I assume that when you teach your elementary school
kids about families, you assign them "Heather
Has Two Mommies;" that when you teach them the
Genesis story that you also have them read "Darwin
and Evolution for Kids;" that when you preach
abstinence to your junior high and high schoolers
that you also give them a copy of Ruth Westheimer's
"Sex for Dummies;" that when you teach them
how the American West was won, you also have them
read "Trail of Tears;" and perhaps most
importantly, that when you present the Bible as literal
truth, you have them read "Atheist Universe:
Why God Didn't Have A Thing To Do With It."
Mr. Stephenson, if you do these things, and truly
teach your charges to think for themselves, you have
my highest admiration, and I thank you for not fitting
the stereotype I would have blindly applied to you.
If you are giving your kids the kind of (dare I say
it) “liberal” education that flows from
your stated commitment to multiple viewpoints and
the application of reason to opinion, you are a model
of excellence in your field.
If, on the other hand, you would fire on the spot
any teacher who dared to bring such blasphemy into
your school, then it is hard to escape the conclusion
that you are indeed the kind of hypocritical, white
sheet-wearing racist asshole I would have guessed
you are, and I am sad there isn't really a hell for
you to rot in.
Very truly yours,
The Left Revererend Bluememe
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