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GOP Hypocrisy

Oklahoma GOP Candidate Wants All Teachers Reeducated With ‘Patriotic Education’ Based on ‘Judeo-Christian Values’

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A controversy is brewing in Oklahoma because a Republican candidate running for state school superintendent wants teachers to undergo “patriotic education” which is being offered by a conservative Christian college in Michigan.

Republican Ryan Walters has previously said students aren’t being taught U.S. history accurately and notes this could be a way to reverse this trend, KOCONews5. Democrat Jena Nelson, who’s running against him called his plan bizarre.

But logic and factualness are not Walters’ strong suit.

“They are now advocating that our students are not taught history but instead are taught indoctrination, instead taught this country is an evil place full of bigoted racists,” Walters said.

Well, here’s a news flash: The U.S. is full of bigoted racists. We know this because when Donald Trump became president, these people found their voices. The entire Republican agenda is built on racism, homophobia, and misogyny. I guess I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, but this fool has really got me going.

The Tulsa World reports that Walters told a crowd of the GOP faithful that all teachers in Oklahoma should undergo training (isn’t that a form of indoctrination?) from Hillsdale College. He mentioned he’s been through this training and believes it would ensure that teachers have an understanding of the basics of what he describes as “true history.”

Apparently, Walters has beaten this dead horse on Twitter. His feed is full of typical right-wing Christian b.s. but that doesn’t really come as a shock, now does it?

“What we have to have is true history taught in schools,” Walters has said in past interviews. “Our kids need to know about the founding. They need to know this country was founded on Judeo-Christian values. They need to know about the Constitution. They need to be inspired by heroes like George Washington.”

So, will this include teaching that at the time of Washington’s death, there were 317 enslaved people of color at Mount Vernon, his 280-acre farm in Virginia? In his will, he set them free but if you’re going to teach “patriotic history” then it’s only fair that students know this.

Oh, and MountVernon.org also records this little fact:

“In 1793, farm manager Anthony Whitting accused Charlotte, an enslaved seamstress, of being ‘impudent,’ by arguing with him and refusing to work. As punishment, he whipped her with a hickory switch, a reprisal Washington deemed ‘very proper.’ Charlotte’s response — that she had not been whipped for 14 years — suggests that physical punishment was sporadic, but not unheard of, at Mount Vernon.”

Will Walters want this to be revealed? My guess is no. He won’t. And he’s probably ignorant about this anyway. Yet he wants to ensure that history is retold accurately. Nelson says this idea raises red flags and she asserts Walters is a puppet who has improper links to the Christian college.

Both candidates say they support teachers but they obviously have different ideas about what this support looks like.

Nelson tweets things like this:

And this:

Walters, however, tweets things like this. Because apparently, he’s also transphobic:

Walters is really that ridiculous.

Megan Hamilton
meet the author

Megan has lived in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida and she currently lives in Central America. Living in these places has informed her writing on politics, science, and history. She is currently owned by 15 cats and 3 dogs and regularly owns Trump supporters when she has the opportunity. She can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GaiaLibra and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/politicalsaurus

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