Editorial #353 The Fight for our Core Values
After hundreds of commentaries, scores of You Tube replies, lectures in practically every high school and college in Northeast Nebraska and Southeast South Dakota, the most gratifying part for any commentator is feedback. The best complement is a simple comment, supportive or critical. A response means someone took the time to seriously listen or read the commentary, internalize it and take the time to communicate their thought or opinion.
The ancient battle in our civilized world has always between good and evil, either supporting or ignoring our core values of truth, fairness, sustainability and integrity. The book I wrote on integrity made the case that the root of all the world’s problems is the lack of integrity, better known as hypocrisy. To stop hypocrisy, dialogue must occur exposing the hypocrisy that is lurking everywhere. The only reason to write any commentary is to spur dialogue.
To solve any problem, it must be first defined. One does not go to a target range wearing a blindfold. You can’t hit a target you can’t see. The process of learning what integrity looks like is the ‘target’ and the only reason for education. Mark Twain said “Never let schooling interfere with your education.” This was a humorous way of saying we have an obligation to learn the principles of life through our personal investment of time and energy. The indoctrination of public education associations often stifles deductive reasoning, essential for understanding integrity. We must expose and resist inductive reasoning where conclusions, often advancing dishonest agendas, are made with little or no evidence to support their conclusion. The ignorance we see is driven by inductive reasoning where wild assumptions stir up emotions to dismiss and reject any attempt to consider counter evidence. Inductive reasoning requires either compromising or ignoring our core values.
Both liberal and conservative philosophies are spawned through education systems. Both philosophies need to be expressed and debated, but only after the fundamentals of logic, science, economics and natural law are understood. Philosophy minus this logic is like building a brick structure without mortar. It will not stand the test of time.
The joy and care I see in the eyes of the hundreds of teachers I’ve meet tells me they would work for nothing if they could. The public education system of nationalized curriculums handcuffs teachers, preventing them from being able to adjust for children with different spectrums of intelligence and understanding. This robs the joy of teaching for teachers and students alike. Teachers unions force teachers to join and submit to wildly activist platforms like abortion, climate change, overpopulation, transgenderism, white bigotry and the early introduction to sexual activity.
These agendas violate the principles of logic, natural law, truth, justice, independent thinking and free choice, undermined by a primitive culture of an out spoken majority who decree standards and laws without evidence or logic to support them. Ergo, if the majority agrees, it must be fact.
Another timeless adage is if one is not criticized for something, they are not doing anything. No one is correct all of the time and there are no perfect answers, only the lesser of two evils. In the business or political world it is better to be respected than liked. Achieving both is nearly impossible, as proven by the crucifixion of arguably the most likable and respected human being to ever live, Jesus Christ.
The fight to defend our core values does not begin in school. It begins in the home where our future citizens should initially be exposed to these timeless principles. Our education system is intended to be an extension of “good parenting” and not a substitute that subordinates and even eliminates parental involvement. The world is not a better place because of mass indoctrination. It is made better when parents make it their life’s mission to introduce their children to the pursuit of their own potential and the role they will play in their community.
This is Keith Kube wishing you the best in making the world a better place.
Keith has a regular commentary on WJAG 780 radio at 7:40 on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Check his website www.keithkube.com for past editorials.