According to a recent Fox News interview, fourth-grader Hayley Yasgar explained that she was given an "equity survey" (Critical Race Theory style) at school. When students asked questions about the assignment, they were told not to ask their parents for help. Could this be a national security issue? Yes, because in ten short years, these children will be 19- and 20-year-old military-service-eligibles. As Liberty Nation has reported, educating future soldiers in misguided and destructive "wokeisms" will not lead to an effective defense fighting force.
Kids Learning Lying to Authority OK?
Most of the reporting on the Minnesota school district incident has focused on the content of the survey administered by a third-party contractor, Equity Alliance Minnesota. According to Hayley, in a presentation she gave to the Sartell-St. Stephen School District school board, the questionnaire asked what gender the children identified with — seen here in the video uploaded by Alphanews. There was confusion among the students, and some asked questions. The way Hayley described it:
"A boy in my class asked if his mom could explain the question to him because even after the teacher explained it, he couldn't understand it. My teacher told him that he was not allowed to ask his mom and that we could not repeat any questions to parents."
Aside from the dubious necessity of querying ten-year-olds about gender identification, there are other troubling messages here. First, the teacher directs the children in the class not to tell their parents, the ultimate authority figures in their lives, about the questions. But, as Hayley explained, her mother told her she could ask her anything. So, why can't she ask her mom about this? Is her mother so intellectually unsophisticated that she cannot appreciate the deep, redeeming value of pre-pubescent, woke inquiries? Or is something wrong going on that the school officials don't want parents to know about? The evidence reveals the last is the case, with teachers and administrators turning the students into mini-co-conspirators. School is supposed to be about learning the truth, and if the equity audit is valid and credible and worthwhile, why does it have to be kept a secret?
(Jessica Christian/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
The second message the teacher transmitted loud and clear was deceit, lying by omission, and keeping the truth from your parents is okay; in fact, it's required. What does this tell young minds? The lesson is these schoolkids must deceive adults, in this case, the ones youngsters depend on for a safe haven when not in school. This is faux education run amok. So, as Hayley told the school board, she was uncomfortable not telling her mother and was made to feel she was "doing something wrong." Do we want schools grooming youngsters, some of whom we hope will consider the military as a way of serving America, to hide information from authority figures?
If the Military Mirrors Society, What Will Result?
A Texas University Texas National Security Review Spring 2021 research study explored "The Societal Implications of Military Exceptionalism." The study group numbered 1,218 "military officers enrolled in the various colleges within the National Defense University and the Army War College and cadets at the U.S. Military Academy." One question asked was whether the respondent agreed with the statement: "It is good for the U.S. military to look like and reflect society." The percentage of those who indicated that they "strongly agree or agree" was 67.4%.
As the participants in the Texas University study indicated, if the members of the military should mirror the society they volunteered to defend, then the society should strive to reflect the most just and principled values possible. Americans should look to the military as trustworthy fellow citizens. Unfortunately, that may not be the trend. Writing for Military Times, Leo Shane III described a March Ronald Reagan Institute public opinion poll, saying:
"About 56 percent of Americans surveyed said they have a great deal of trust and confidence in the military, down from 70 percent in 2018. The poll includes views of more than 2,500 individuals who were asked questions in early February 2021. 'To see this drop is quite a concern,' said Roger Zakheim, Washington director of the institute. 'This is not just the events of the past 12 months. We're seeing this trend now.'"
The effectiveness of U.S. defense forces depends on precise understanding of the hierarchy of authority that establishes good order and discipline. Among troops in combat, accepting authority is crucial.
With decreasing numbers of Americans trusting the military, the last thing the country needs is armed forces that believes lying and deceit are acceptable and authority figures can be ignored. So it is distressing to learn that those we entrust with teaching America's most impressionable minds are undermining the goal of producing morally courageous adults.
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliation.
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