Texas wants to rewrite the US History books

Funny how the rest of the world has no problems learning multiple languages, why can't we? Start teaching it at an early age and it won't be an issue. I cringe when I hear people say if you don't know the language here then leave. Kinda goes against what this country was built on in the first place. Aren't we supposed to be the melting pot? With that stubborn mentality we're going to be left in the dust in no time.

Matty. Dead on man. We need to start teaching a second language at an early age to children, like 1st grade early. Children can pick up language much easier than adults. Being bilingual does nothing but give your child an advantage. I don't care if you learn French, Spanish, Latin, or that clicky shit the aborigines in Australia speak. A 2nd language should be mandatory in US schools.

Funny how the rest of the world has no problems learning multiple languages, why can't we? Start teaching it at an early age and it won't be an issue. I cringe when I hear people say if you don't know the language here then leave. Kinda goes against what this country was built on in the first place. Aren't we supposed to be the melting pot? With that stubborn mentality we're going to be left in the dust in no time.
No, people say if your not willing to learn the language then leave and that makes perfect sense.

Among all those, the one that stands out the most to me (and I assume many others) is not including Thomas Jefferson among writers influencing the nation's intellectual origins. That's like discussing art with mentioning DaVinci, science without Newton, literature without Mark Twain.

Can no one be impartial any more? Does no one take the responsibilities that they are charged with seriously? It's a shame, which ever way you lean.

Well I'd counter that the bill of rights, through the right to worship freely, pretty much sets the stage for the separation of church and state. I mean think about it, if the citizens are free to worship whoever and whatever they want, how can you legislate based on one set of beliefs vs another?

Yes. While the phrase, "separation of church and state," does not exist in founding documents, this is clearly what the Bill of Rights had in mind when it said that government will neither establish nor prohibit the establishment of religion.

The idea that the founding fathers were strict Christians is bunk. The words "God" or "Jesus" do not appear in the Constitution, as they would if the founding fathers had considered us to be a Christian country. Further, the first treaty entered into by the United States, the Treaty of Tripoli of 1796, expressly claims that the US government is not based on religion.

Excising Jefferson as an intellectual influence but touting the influence of Aquinas and Calvin is deplorable.

Maybe this is a result of your school's textbook, but do you realize that Separation of Church and State does not exist in law or founding documents? Jefferson ONLY mentioned it in private correspondence.

It's a giant misconception.

It was more to keep the state out of the church than the church out of the state. However the framers of the constitution, notably Jefferson and Madison did offer their thoughts on it and pretty much stated that an exclusive separation was best. That's when you catch the "spirit" of the law. Whether it is actually in the laws or not does not matter, it is very important that they remain separate and it is not, by ANY degree, the major point of Jefferson's philosophies on the creation of this nation, so to focus on that alone is unfair to the legwork that he did. So as I said, legally or not, it's for the better of the people to keep them separate.

How can you offer a freedom to exercise and allow laws that prohibit such? Sure there are some on the books (polygamy, to counter the cult Mormons), but not too many.

Excising Jefferson as an intellectual influence but touting the influence of Aquinas and Calvin is deplorable.

Exactly, I was going to comment on this as well.

Ok Buster, but exclude TJ simply because of that? I think you can note all of that in textbooks AND note TJ's contributions as well.

This is BS. I am all for more information, but not excluding certain facts because of personal beliefs. If you truly feel like that, be active in your kids studies, inform them of your perspective or even home school.

The concept of education itself is liberal in nature. Not liberal in the political sense. Liberal in that sense that it isnt close minded, restricted in scope, open to questioning, etc. Its great to put a different perspective but a responsible teacher, parent, etc. should always note the counter argument and not portray things as black and white.

That is education, and some of the points(not all) that these people want simply don't mesh with the concept of knowledge.

Agreed.

Can no one be impartial any more? Does no one take the responsibilities that they are charged with seriously? It's a shame, which ever way you lean.

It was never impartial.

His Story = history

The rich write the world's history. The poor write its music.

Yes. While the phrase, "separation of church and state," does not exist in founding documents, this is clearly what the Bill of Rights had in mind when it said that government will neither establish nor prohibit the establishment of religion.

The idea that the founding fathers were strict Christians is bunk. The words "God" or "Jesus" do not appear in the Constitution, as they would if the founding fathers had considered us to be a Christian country. Further, the first treaty entered into by the United States, the Treaty of Tripoli of 1796, expressly claims that the US government is not based on religion.

Excising Jefferson as an intellectual influence but touting the influence of Aquinas and Calvin is deplorable.

Let's not forget why a lot of people left Europe for the Americas....to get away from the Catholic Church and the Church of England, and whatever other bloody church there was.