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The Indoctrination of Our Children Begins Now
And so it begins, "mandatory service" and training for our youth, and all under a pair of innocuous titles. HR 1388 RH, the "Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act", has passed the House, by a vote of 321-105, and is on its way to the Senate, where sits a sister bill, sponsored by Ted Kennedy, entitled the "Serve America Act", or S 277. While the composition of these bills differ, they contain much of the same disarming and deceptive wording. However, the "Youth Engagement Program" portion, as well as other "mandatory" requirements" have been struck from the original Senate bill.
While there are many, many reasons I oppose this legislation, or any like it, I will point out what I consider to be the worst from HR 1388, which, in essence, is a variation to Obama's "National Civilian Security Force" ("We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." Barack Obama, July 2, 2008). One other thing that needs to be mentioned, of course, is cost to the taxpayers, or more borrowed money for another government program. CBO estimates the initial cost to be a mere $6 billion, but when was the last time any government program ever came in under the CBO estimate? Especially when a Congress gets spend happy, as this Congress is doing. If this bill is allowed to stand, it will cost easily closer to $100 billion in my lifetime, and that isn't going to be that many more years. And remember as you read the following, this is for "NATIONAL SERVICE".
SEC. 120. INNOVATIVE DEMONSTRATION SERVICE-LEARNING
PROGRAMS AND RESEARCH.
(a) In General- From the amounts appropriated to carry out this
part for a fiscal year, the Corporation may make grants and
fixed-amount grants (in accordance with section 129(l)) with
eligible entities for activities described in subsection (c).
(b) Definitions- For purposes of this part, the following
definitions apply:
(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES- The term `eligible entity' means a
State education agency, a State Commission, a Territory, an
Indian tribe, an institution of higher education, or a public or
private nonprofit organization (including community-based
organizations), a public or private elementary or secondary
school, a local educational agency, or a consortia of such
entities, where a consortia of two or more such entities may also
include a for-profit organization.
(2) YOUTH ENGAGEMENT ZONE- The term `youth engagement zone'
means the area in which a youth engagement zone program is
carried out.
(3) YOUTH ENGAGEMENT ZONE PROGRAM- The term `youth engagement
zone program' means a service learning program in which members
of an eligible partnership described in paragraph (4) collaborate
to provide coordinated school-based or community-based service
learning opportunities, to address a specific community
challenge, for an increasing percentage of out-of-school youth
and secondary school students served by local educational
agencies where -
(A) not less than 90 percent of the students participate
in service-learning activities as part of the program; or
(B) service-learning is a mandatory part of the
curriculum in all of the secondary schools served by the local
educational agency.
SEC. 1509. PERMANENT CADRE.
Section 159 (42 U.S.C. 12619) is amended -
(3) in subsection (c) -
(A) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by inserting `National'
before `Civilian Community Corps'; and
(B) in paragraph (2) -
(i) in subparagraph (A) -
(I) by striking `The Director shall establish a
permanent cadre of' and inserting `The Chief Executive Officer
shall establish a permanent cadre that includes the Director and
other appointed'; and
(II) by inserting `National' before `Civilian
Community Corps';
SEC. 151. PURPOSE.
It is the purpose of this subtitle to authorize the operation of,
and support for, residential and other service programs that
combine the best practices of civilian service with the best
aspects of military service, including leadership and team
building, to meet national and community needs. Such needs to be
met under such programs include those related to -
(1) natural and other disasters;
(2) infrastructure improvement;
(3) environmental stewardship and conservation;
(4) energy conservation;
(5) urban and rural development; and
(6) other unmet needs consistent with the purpose as
described in this section.'.
In just these 3 sections, I find some disturbing suggestions, along with implementation strategies that are quite bothersome. First, from Section 120, "a public or private elementary or secondary school", "school based", "90% participation", and "mandatory part of the curriculum". Isn't "volunteerism" supposed to be just that, volunteering? So why make it "mandatory" for 90% of students, starting with elementary? Then, from section 1509, "establish a permanent cadre". Is this the type of government program that should be permanent? In other words, once it is established, it will be just one more government bureaucracy to drain tax dollars from the citizens of this nation. And last, from Section 151, "best aspects of military service". Most people consider the best aspects of military service to be the tremendous physical training they receive along with discipline and a sense of respect for a chain of command, and I agree with those assessments, though there are many other fine qualities the members of our Armed Forces learn as well.
While these functions are necessary in the military, do we want mandates forcing our children to be "volunteered" into that type of training system as civilians? And with our tax dollars? The draft was abolished, and the military hasn't suffered all that much as a result, thanks to the fact that there are still brave men and women out there to fill the ranks. So why do we need to have a new law that will force our children into the ranks of a "National Civilian Community Corps"? Is that the only way they can get the ranks filled? It reminds me all too much of the pages of history, say around 1922, and again in 1933. Yes, there are a few scattered references within the bill stating that parental consent may be required, but what's to keep Congress from changing the law after the initial law is passed? They do it all the time.
I did not include the portions subjecting seniors to this same type of treatment, again under a "volunteer" status, and with changes to existing laws. But these few items are only the tip of the iceberg contained in this bill, every time I read the finished version, I get sick to my stomach at the little hidden gems I find. These two bills need to get what they deserve, death from lack of passage by our Congress!! The two bills again are HR 1388 and S 277. Call your Senators NOW and get this idiocy stopped in its tracks!!! Don't let our government turn our children into government indoctrinated robots!! "Give me four years to teach the children, and the seeds I have sown will never be uprooted." ~ Lenin
And they are attempting to rob our children of the innocence of their youth!!
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