December 27, 2007 7:23 AM
Loudoun School Board Member John Stevens weighs in on Christmas
Since Loudoun County Public School officials and board members usually commit to a point of view only when necessary - and then work hard to please as broad a base of constituents as possible - I found John Stevens candor at his Our Loudoun Schools blog refreshing.
Seems Stevens thinks that the discussion here about the marginalizing of Christmas in public schools is bogus - just something drummed up by the "privileged class." Responding to Public schools and religious freedom: Can one person make a difference?, he says:
I've heard these stories before. One parent complains and suddenly... no Santa! Non-Christian religions have the run of the place! So far each of them has turned out to be a trumped-up charge, third hand at best. But the underlying spirit of this post, insulting Kwanzaa specifically and any faith that isn't her own with her broad generalization of "every other religious holiday," is what really bothers me. Really Barbara? Did your school commemorate Diwali or Ramadan this year? Did they celebrate Wesak, which is the birthday of Buddha? Or the birthdays of Baha'ullah (Baha'i) or Guru Nana Dev (Sihk)?
When you hear someone bemoan the assault on Christianity in public schools, you're hearing the wailing of a privileged class as its presumed birthright to power is revoked.
Then, just for the heck of it, a little ad hominem:
In Barbara's mind, all of life is a battleground for the dominance of the one true religion. Whenever she's not winning, she's losing.
If only otherwise intelligent people understood how that sort of self-indulgence weakens and cheapens their rhetoric!
For John Stevens' complete thoughts: Schools and Holidays.
Anyway, I hope you are as delighted as I am to find a place where you can learn what one of our LCPS School Board members really thinks. What many people who voted for John Stevens probably don't know is that he is very good friends with Mainstream Loudoun, a small band of people who act as watchdogs for our public schools - although most members probably don't have children in public schools - complaining about everything from abstinence speakers to Internet filters to teaching kids the biblical allusions abounding throughout literature. They really know how to use Letters to the Editor campaigns to make a cast of 20 sound like the voices of 2000. In fact, I see their distinctive craft in this particular entry of John Stevens' blog.
This is why I love the Internet and blogging. On my long list of things to write about, I had been meaning at some point to get to the John Stevens/Mainstream Loudoun connection. Now I can cross it off my list.
I am not in John Stevens' district, so do not vote for him directly. But those of you in the Potomac District may want to pass his blog on to your friends and neighbors and keep an eye on what he really thinks. I heartily recommend attending School Board meetings as well. They are held the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at the administration fortress building in Ashburn.
In covering problems in Massachusetts schools, I'm learning that while national politics are important, they can be a big distraction from what's happening in your own backyard. School boards wield tremendous power to transform a school district. They should be under much closer scrutiny by the parents whose children's education is in their hands.
So you'll probably understand why I say, Thank you, John Stevens, for telling us how you really feel! In the marketplace of ideas, who could ask for more?
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See also Who Is Mainstream Loudoun?
Mainstream Loudoun supporter/ACLU attorney pleads guilty to child porn charges
Mainstream Loudoun and censorship
Posted in Loudoun County, Public schools | Permalink
