We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable [1] Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness. That
to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their
just powers from the consent of the governed.
— Declaration
of Independence, In Congress, July 4, 1776
declaring America's independence from the tyranny of the English crown, establishing
a Republican governance, a government of laws not a government of men. The Constitution, taking its cue from
the Declaration of Independence, was set up in such manner that the flow of
power — the hierarchy of authority — was from the Creator to the
People to the Government. As James
Madison stated,
We have staked the whole future of American civilization,
not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our
political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern
ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten
Commandments of God.
In this same vein, John Adams stated,
Our constitution was made for a moral and religious people;
it is wholly inadequate for any other.
In such a capitalist society, a free
society, the economy serves the needs of the people who pursue their own lives
according to their own needs, making of their lives what they will; rule is by
majority with the rights of the minority protected from the whims of the
majority by the Constitution and Bill of Rights; the people have individual
rights.
But, we are now
told, we must prepare ourselves to be competitive in the global economy of
the 2lst Century. Why wouldn't
America, as a free market nation, be competitive under such an economy? We are told that, according to surveys
of employers [2], our education system is not producing graduates qualified to
enter the workplace. We must,
therefore, have a new education system tied to the needs of local industry.
The debate has been framed, but do
people really understand that the purpose of the new education system is to
provide human resource units for the benefit of industry? Most do not.
Dialectical materialism — a social and economic theory
elaborated by Karl Marx and others, and held by Communists, which maintains
that social and economic evolution must inevitably proceed through stages of
conflict between economic classes, the dictatorship of the proletariat, and the
gradual atrophy of the state to the eventual emergence of a classless society. [3]
"…a classless
society…" everyone absolutely equal to everyone else [4]; flatten the curve
— a move that parallels too many aspects of the restructuring of American
schools and society —
we must decentralize the schools…creating site based
councils consisting of appointed representatives…
we must flatten the management curve…
we must flatten the bell curve, making time flexible and learning
constant; that all children shall achieve to the same standard…
we must rid ourselves of the authoritarian hierarchy…
all couched in
glowing terms, in very positive verbiage … flowing forth on ream upon
ream of paper in books, reports, publications, etc,…all intended to make
people absolutely equal…the classless society, or rather the illusion of
a classless society [5]. In such a society, the
power flows from the government to the people, people being "human
capital" serving the needs of the economy; rule is by majority with the
rights of the minority subject to the whims of the majority; rights are only
held by the collective; the lives of the people are governed by the needs and
wants of the government.
The tenth plank outlined by Marx and Engels in The Communist Manifesto as
necessary for transformation to socialism/communism is,
Free education for all children in
public schools. …Combination of
education with industrial production, &c, &c.
Goals 2000,
Educate America Act; Title III, Sec. 301 (9):
State and local systemic improvement strategies must provide
all students with effective mechanisms and appropriate paths to the work force
as well as higher education…
(10): Business should be encouraged
(A)
to enter into partnerships with
schools;
(B)
to provide information and guidance to schools based on the needs of
area business for properly educated graduates in general and on the need for particular
workplace skills that the schools may provide;
(C) to
provide necessary education and training materials and support; and
(D) to
continue the lifelong learning process throughout the employment years of the
individual… (highlighting
added)
In order for business and labor to be full partners with
training and education providers, there must be greater capacity on the part of
both business and labor to participate effectively in designing programs,
ensuring that programs meet labor market needs and providing meaningful
work-based learning opportunities. [6]
…Workforce training must be linked to economic
development strategies so that the supply of highly skilled workers is
coordinated with the demand… [7]
…Work-based learning programs in high school should
not be students' first exposure to work; students should have an emphasis on
career awareness in elementary grades and career exploration and counseling in
middle and junior high schools…
…To succeed in high performance work organizations,
today's students must master the new basic skills – teamwork, critical
thinking, making decisions, communication, adapting to change and understanding
whole systems… [8]
…Knowing what we face, we are confident that
Washington has the leadership, energy and perseverance to make it to our
destination: a world class
workforce. [9]
The Workforce
Training and Education Coordinating Board was established in 1991 by ESSB 5184 and charged with the task of coordinating
education and workforce training.
The board is made up of appointed positions. The bill report on ESSB
5184 makes reference to America's Choice: high skills or low wages! In the back of High Skills, High
Wages, from which the previous quotes come, is acknowledged Hilary
Pennington, president of Jobs for the Future — a subcontractor to the
National Alliance for Restructuring Education owned by National Center on
Education and the Economy, Marc Tucker, president. Pennington was also mentioned in the infamous
letter [10] from Tucker to Hillary Rodham Clinton, dated November 11, 1992,
in which Tucker congratulated Clinton on her victory and went on to
outline the tenets of a workforce training and education system such as is now
being implemented in Washington state and other states.
From High
Skills, High Wages…
And, in anticipation of federal legislation creating a
customer-centered "re-employment" system, the Employment Security
Department has begun planning an "integrated service delivery system"
for the state, and has earmarked $5 million of current funds to support pilot
projects. [11]
…The Clinton administration is promoting legislation
to update and supplement this "employment system' with a
're-employment system." [12]
Obviously
referenced in these two quotes is HR 1617 and S 143 at
the federal level. HR 1617 and S
143 passed in September and October, 1995, respectively and are now in
conference. HR 1617, pandered as a
bill to return "power to the states" via block grants, establishes a
local labor market management board incorporated with one stop career centers
where education and workforce training will be coordinated with labor market
needs according to regions which may cross county, state and national
borders [13]. The bill will emancipate children at age
sixteen (Section 5) at or about the time they receive their Certificate of
Mastery and must decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives. The very people who would truly look out
for the child's best interests — the parents — will be effectively
cut out of the picture leaving the child to the mercy of the school and labor
market management board in accordance with labor market needs in the region. Any child who does not have a
Certificate of Mastery will not be able to work. In material put out by the State of
Washington, it is stated that Washington will become a full employment
state. While this sounds wonderful
at the outset, what it really means is that there will be a body for every job,
not a job for every body. [14]
Education reform is expressly intended
to provide a not too well educated but cooperative, collaborative, teamplayer
willing to work for minimal compensation for the good of the collective whole
— in final analogy, the state.
The very definition of a planned economy, of a
socialist society.
Every attempt is being made to
alienate, castigate, marginalize and neutralize those who oppose this socialist
system that has been wrapped in aesthetic jargon and illusive language. Many people support schools but see no
difference between supporting schools and supporting good education. Many people have no idea that America is
not a democratic society or participatory
democracy, and not knowing the meaning of these terms, have no
idea that what is coming at them is socialism — oppression of the
magnitude they have never before known.
The Judeo Christian belief is coming under attack on a daily basis as
the socialists convince people that what they want is what America has always
been and was always intended to be.
But again, having no firm basis in history, our Constitution, or our
form of government, people have no knowledge with which to refute this great
lie.
…but times are
a'changin'…we are a new world…the
Constitution is archaic…
Although all men are born free, slavery has been the general
lot of the human race.
Ignorant—they have been cheated; asleep—they have been
surprised; divided—the yoke has been forced upon them. But what is the lesson?…the people
ought to be enlightened, to be awakened, to be united, that after establishing
a government they should watch over it…It is universally admitted that a
well-instructed people alone can be permanently free.
— James
Madison
__________________
[1] Often times this is written as
"inalienable" which is incorrect. The distinction between inalienable and
unalienable is the prefix in- and un-.
In context, inalienable means rights coming from within (the New Age and
socialist/humanist philosophy). In
context, unalienable would mean rights given by the Creator. [Back]
[2] What questions were asked of employers
on these surveys, done in 1990, is not known but is important as questions can
be very easily skewed to achieve the wanted result. [Back]
[3] The Worldbook
Encyclopedia Dictionary; Chicago, Il:
Double Day and Co, Inc; 1965. [Back]
[4] "That all men are born to equal
rights is true. Every being has a
right to his own, as clear, as moral, as sacred, as any other being
has…But to teach that all men are born with equal powers and facilities,
to equal influence in society, to equal property and advantages through life,
is as gross a fraud, as glaring an imposition on the credulity of the people,
as ever was practiced…"
—John Adams [Back]
[5] The reality is that
"authority" becomes covert, manifested as the "leaders" of
the proletariat; they are not identified as the bourgeoisie. [Back]
[6] High Skills,
High Wages, Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board; 1994;
page 62. [Back]
[10] This infamous letter
was written over a previous publication of Tucker, entitled A Human
Resource Development Plan for the United States; National Center on
Education and the Economy; 1992. [Back]
[11] High Skills,
High Wages; Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board; 1994. [Back]
[13] Due to intense public opposition,
HR 1617 and S 143 were allowed to die in conference committee. Subsequently, the bill was broken up
into three parts, and passed in successive sessions of Congress; the last piece
being the Workforce Investment Act in 1998. [Back]
[14] Work
Organization, High Skills, and Public Policy: Report of a Conference; Jobs for
the Future; page 22. [Back]
© April 1996;
Lynn M Stuter
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