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Wednesday, August 10, 2005

That's not what I learned in Kindergarten

I was reading a post on another blog, and while in the process of posting a comment I stumbled upon this excellent article.
The issue at hand is a father who is concerned about what is being taught to his son in kindergarten. When I was in kindergarten, I believe we played with blocks, made fun of girls, and had nap time. Apparently, things are a little different in Estabrook.
The conflict began on Jan. 17, when Parker's then-5-year-old son brought home a Diversity Bookbag from kindergarten. Included was Robert Skutch's "Who's In a Family?" that depicts families headed by same-sex couples. Parker had wanted to decide for himself the timing and manner in which his son was introduced to the subject of homosexuality.
(The Bookbag is supposed to be a voluntary program but the Parkers knew nothing about it in advance.)

It is interesting to note that gays and lesbians often complain that religious people are trying to impose their own religious views on the gays' homosexual lifestyle. This is hypocritical when they, in return, impose their own lifestyle choices upon the religious, for example in a kindergarten. By the same token, for law schools to allow pro-gay rallies but not a military recruiter because of a non-pro-gay stance is discriminatory to those that are not pro-gay. As is obvious, this is intended as a political statement and has nothing at all to do with promoting diversity or stamping out discrimination.
The next couple of paragraphs in the story brought up another excellent point:
Parker immediately e-mailed the Estabrook school principal, Joni Jay (search). Parker expressed his belief that gay parents did not constitute "a spiritually healthy family"; he did not wish his son to be taught that a gay family is "a morally equal alternative to other family constructs."
Parker acknowledged the equal rights of gays but objected to "the 'out of the closet' and into the kindergarten classroom mentality." In essence, Parker highlighted the difference between tolerance, which acknowledges someone's right to make a choice, and acceptance, which is the personal validation of that choice.
It is one thing to say that gays should be allowed to do as they please; that their own private lives are for them to do as they please. Even if one agrees to this point, which is itself debatable, one must acknowledge, as these schools have not, that others must not be forced to accept those same views. To do so is not only hypocritical, it is akin to a much deeper discrimination, one which trashes any religious worldview as wrong, and therefore one which need not be paid attention to. It is sad that those who claim to be the champions of diversity are in fact the champions of nothing but discrimination.

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