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EDITORIAL: What are they teaching?Dec 07, 2012 (The Augusta Chronicle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- These are the people teaching children in California The California Federation of Teachers has produced an animated video, narrated by far-left actor Ed Asner, that is as blatant a commercial for socialism -- or worse -- than anything Fidel Castro or the old Soviet Union could've put together. The video argues that rich people are evil and obtained their wealth, as the Hollywood Reporter summed it up, "through tax loopholes, tax cuts and tax evasion." Somehow, hard work, long days and nights, skill, talent and dedication don't figure into success, according to the California teachers. Most outrageously, though, the unrepentant propaganda cartoon actually depicts a rich person urinating on the less well-off. Now, Asner is an avowed socialist who doesn't buy into the very free market system he's lived quite well off of for decades. He has that right. But heaven help us if that video or its anti-capitalist views are allowed to poison our children's minds. "The idea that there are any California teachers currently in classrooms in charge of children who agree with that is horrifying," conservative commentator Tucker Carlson concluded after seeing it. "It was pretty bad. I have to say, even I found it offensive," adds liberal commentator Kirsten Powers. "It was too much demonizing for my taste." Time was when parents could rest easy in the knowledge that American schools were teaching their children the ins and outs of the American free enterprise system. Not so today. Today, you've got socialists paid to be in the classrooms -- and an organization such as Junior Achievement, which teaches the values and methods of entrepreneurship, passing the hat to get into limited numbers of schools. Is it any wonder that socialism -- which teaches that wealth should be shared without regard to who produced it or how responsible the recipient of the transferred wealth is -- is on the rise in America Indeed, Gallup says 53 percent of Democrats have a positive view of socialism. Interestingly, Merriam-Webster this week announced that the words of the year -- the "most looked-up" -- were capitalism and socialism. Keep reading, kids! In fact, here's a suggestion. How about the California teachers' next video be about the many benefits of socialism About how a person can go to school and work and strive to better himself and one day succeed, only to be told that he "didn't build that" and isn't paying his "fair share" and must give more of what he earns to someone else who didn't earn it. Oh, and make sure to note that the system has never worked for long, and is about as immoral a political system as you can dream up. We can't wait to see that video! ___ (c)2012 The Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, Ga.) Visit The Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, Ga.) at chronicle.augusta.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |