All this time I've been in shock that so many xtians are so strongly in support of Trump in spite of his seemingly un-xtian values. But I just realized how essentially unfair it must feel to them to be taxed to support public education when so many feel the necessity to home school their kids for fear of losing them to secularism. From my own point of view, my reaction has been: tough, that is the price of remaining in the bronze age. But it isn't too hard to realize why from their point of view it would be easy to support a political strong man who would push aside the rational reasons for the status quo and simply redress what feels unfair to them.
From a secular viewpoint (mine at least) xtian's fear of education leading to godlessness is just the burden of promoting a lifestyle which requires indoctrination.
DeVos speaks publicly in support of getting god back in the schools. This is where Trump's nativism dovetails with this assault on public education. Rather than sort through the complexities of providing every variety of indoctrination to every religious group in order to avoid the corrosive effects of a secular education, Trumpites insist America is Christian - one nation under god, yada yada yada.
Vouchers is the method for subsidizing any form of religious indoctrination with the same tax money which currently supports only the secular education which they find corrosive to the continuation of their culture through their children. It isn't hard to see the appeal. This movement will bring out in xtians the same desire to see 'god's kingdom' realized on earth that also fuels the desire among muslims for Sharia law. Of course xtians either don't see that or don't see them as equivalent. Trump's answer is nativism.
But a key element of Trumpism is the insistence that every problem has a simple solution. I don't imagine that a true conservative would welcome this turn of events, but the republican party has allied themselves with the xtian right. Together they form a coalition of those whose well-being is tied to preserving income inequality with those who see their cultural survival as requiring government sanctioned indoctrination.
What a nightmare.
From a secular viewpoint (mine at least) xtian's fear of education leading to godlessness is just the burden of promoting a lifestyle which requires indoctrination.
DeVos speaks publicly in support of getting god back in the schools. This is where Trump's nativism dovetails with this assault on public education. Rather than sort through the complexities of providing every variety of indoctrination to every religious group in order to avoid the corrosive effects of a secular education, Trumpites insist America is Christian - one nation under god, yada yada yada.
Vouchers is the method for subsidizing any form of religious indoctrination with the same tax money which currently supports only the secular education which they find corrosive to the continuation of their culture through their children. It isn't hard to see the appeal. This movement will bring out in xtians the same desire to see 'god's kingdom' realized on earth that also fuels the desire among muslims for Sharia law. Of course xtians either don't see that or don't see them as equivalent. Trump's answer is nativism.
But a key element of Trumpism is the insistence that every problem has a simple solution. I don't imagine that a true conservative would welcome this turn of events, but the republican party has allied themselves with the xtian right. Together they form a coalition of those whose well-being is tied to preserving income inequality with those who see their cultural survival as requiring government sanctioned indoctrination.
What a nightmare.
