The Catholic bishop of Harrisburg, Pa., Bishop Joseph McFadden is being criticized for comments where he compares American public schools to the system that Hitler and Mussolini sought to create. I actually think that part of the criticism of McFadden is misplaced, though he is certainly worthy of criticism. McFadden’s controversial statements follow a call for Catholics to organize against President Obama and his health care program by leading Catholic leaders.
In an interview with the ABC affiliate in Harrisburg, McFadden was objecting to the lack of school vouchers in Pennsylvania and the lack of choice for many parents: “In the totalitarian government, they would love our system,” McFadden said. “This is what Hitler and Mussolini and all them tried to establish — a monolith; so all the children would be educated in one set of beliefs and one way of doing things.” The Anti-Defamation League has condemned the statement and said “he should not be making his point at the expense of the memory of six million Jews and millions of others who perished in the Holocaust.”
I understand the sensitivity to such a comparison, but I do not think that the Bishop was referring to the Holocaust. People should be able to make comparisons to aspects of prior totalitarian regimes without fear of being call insensitive to the Holocaust. The Nazi regime was a worldwide tragedy with many aspects and precursors that are the subject of historical and political discourse.
Where McFadden is wrong is that the comparison is wildly misplaced. First, Hitler was raised by a devout Catholic mother and many Nazis were taught in religious schools. Indeed, the Vatican was criticized by some for not doing more to confront the Nazi regime. Second, the fascists sought to use schools to indoctrinate children to accept narrow values to the exclusion of other values and the objectification of other people. American public schools do the opposite. They are motivated by pluralistic principles to help shape citizens who are tolerant and well-rounded. They are the antithesis of what fascists want from education.
Finally, this is about vouchers and whether the people of Pennsylvania should subsidize alternative schools, such as Catholic schools. With the church experiencing severe shortfalls in attendance and donations, they need more from the state more than ever. However, there are very good reasons for opposition to vouchers. I attended Catholic schools for part of my earlier education and I am very thankful for the education that I received in those schools. However, Leslie and I are committed to the model of public education. While we can afford a private education, we have kept our children in public schools where they are taught in a more diverse class. I have long been an advocate for public education, particularly in the elementary and middle school levels, as a critical part of shaping good citizens. While I have often been critical of the curriculum particularly on civics, I believe that the public schools have always been the key to maintaining a citizenry that is educated and tolerant.
The comparison to Hitler and Mussolini reflects less disrespect on the part of Bishop McFadden than it does a lack of understanding of the fascistic agenda on education: dogma and exclusionary learning. While I believe Catholic schools are excellent choices for learning, it is outrageous to compare fascistic systems to our public schools. Hitler and Mussolini would find our current curriculum in public schools to be a threat to their type of indoctrination model for children.
Source: ABC
id707,
Mostly S/F and detective fiction. Alistair Reynolds, William Gibson, Harlan Ellison, Walter Mosley, Jeff Lindsey and Dashiell Hammett.
that Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey is bad news for the Klan.
Turns out the whole world is of African descent.
What is that going to do to the 8a program?
The poor Australian Aborigines are going to have to change their creation story.
The bible publishers are going to have to change the color of Adam and Eve, looks like they werent white after all.
Elaine,
Bookmarked Well’s page, looks interesting, I’ll check if it’s in a Kindle version.
“But would I make the grade?”
ID707,
Your here. You’re interesting. You made the grade.
“The other puzzle to me is the timeline for human development of technology.
The calculus of infinitesimals is proven to have been developed 3000 years ago in the Sumerian culture. Why did it take so long to get where Newton and Liebnitz got it going again for the nth time.”
I one of those wackos that thinks maybe it didn’t take so long, but was lost and
rediscovered. Graham Hancock has some interesting speculation, http://www.grahamhancock.com/news/index.php as does Alexander Sitchin. Archaeology is still in its infancy, as is Anthropology. I don’t know if Hancock and Sitchin are to be believed, but they have some interesting speculation.
We know much about the culture of ancient Egypt, however, no one has any real proof as to how the that great culture evolved, or why they could do such extraordinary building. I started out in my teens towards becoming an Archaeologist, but chickened out because I didn’t think I could afford the schooling. Ancient history still fascinates me though and viewing humanity across a broader spectrum adds much context.
idealist707:
so what reading do you suggest?
http://emilyslist.org/action/add_your_voice_protect_birth_control_for_millions_of_women/
http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/02/biden-daley-warned-president-about-contraception-decision-113881.html
Blouise, I assume it is in the summer. I will come up and campaign for Sherrod and Obama. Santorum will carry Texas if he is the nominee.
Shoot … I left out Mike E and OS … my apologies … hopefully ‘and others’ covered it
Gene H.,
Game,set, and match. You get the trophy.
What fiction have you been overindulging in? i peak at your mail to others.
“But would I make the grade?” (id707)
Nobody makes the grade here for top grade means designation as the “Top Inglorious Bastard” which is not necessarily good for the resume. 😉
Elaine,
Is this it … or did I get the link wrong?
Blouise, Where are you going to have your party? (SwM),
Anywhere that will allow bobcats … which probably means my backyard. But it’s big and I’ll get it mowed and set up porta-potties and everything.
id707,
Certainly environmental opportunity could/would impact the scenario. However, the Bushmen example I think only proves the point about necessity being the Mother of Invention. They had a robust and largely sub-tropical environment to live of off with a variety of food sources. Compare this to the desert and temperate climates where farming and herding first developed: more extreme weather and seasonal variations combined with less options for hunting and foraging. This is also seen in the general trend that technology developed all along the temperate zones much faster than in the tropical and sub-tropical zones.
Elaine,
No, I haven’t, but after reading the description over at Amazon I have added to my “To Read” list. Quite fortuitously, I am in need of a new book to read and looking for some non-fiction to break up my recent fiction frenzy. Spencer may even go to the front of the line. 😀 Thanks!
Gene,
Have you read “Pandora’s Seed: The Unforeseen Cost of Civilization” by Spencer Wells?
Wells is director of the Genographic Project.
https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/genographic/StaticFiles/ProjectUpdates/SpencerWellsBio2009.pdf
“And the last point, why did we spend so many centuries in the stone age.
Perhaps it was the ice age cycles that prevented advance, although they claim that crisis stimulates adaptive growth.”
I suspect that population density had a lot to do with that. Lower population densities make living off of the land in the ad hoc manner stone age cultures do it much easier. The invention of agriculture, like all inventions, came about by necessity. As population densities increased, hunting and gathering was simply insufficient to fed the people. The development of all other technology is dependent upon the free time agriculture created by freeing up manpower from subsistence living tasks.
Gene H.
Yes, yes indeed.
Studies of bushmen cultures, in a very meager environment in the 1930’s. showed the women would spend max 3 hours a day gathering.
They ate at that time over 200 different nutrition sources a year.
The men did nothing on a daily basis, hunting max two days a week.
The point of free time released by agriculture, yeah!, but the bushmen had oodles too. But no results. Was the environment simply poor in opportunities.. You can’t extract copper where there is no ore.
Blouise,
Hey, I knew I had tumbled into the right place. But would I make the grade?
Thanks for the puff. Below find the latest frog quackings.
Thanks for pointing out the parade of stars here on H’wood Blvd. Obs, No rankings, no diagrams, no heavy analysis. Pure Blouise.
Re: Knowledge vs opinions. I won’t belabor this. Just note that they interact for some, can we say the non-RWAs. But not for RWA’s.
The other puzzle to me is the timeline for human development of technology.
The calculus of infinitesimals is proven to have been developed 3000 years ago in the Sumerian culture. Why did it take so long to get where Newton and Liebnitz got it going again for the nth time.
And the last point, why did we spend so many centuries in the stone age.
Perhaps it was the ice age cycles that prevented advance, although they claim that crisis stimulates adaptive growth.
Am not seeking admiration as Prof.know-it-all, only launching some of my favorites, although off-topic. Eager to see if any others speculate similarly.
A big silence will not quell me, only encourage rumination.
Elaine,
Thanks again for the link to Inside Job. I have not seen that yet.
Blouise,
I know Vince is lurking about. If he feels strongly enough about something, I’m sure he’ll speak up. Rest assured though, he still reads this blog even if he doesn’t participate as much as he once did. Personally, I’d welcome a chance to party. I’ve missed his Enterprise gravatar around here.