When people in The United States talk about “choice” there seems to be only one issue that comes to mind, and that is abortion. Those who define themselves as “Pro-Choice” will tenaciously defend a woman’s right to “choose” whether to give birth to a baby that they have partnered to conceive. My readers know that I believe that life begins at conception, but I also understand that this issue is not a simple one. Rape, incest and protection of the life of the mother are just a few of the complicating factors that can make this “choice” difficult. I still believe that the best political position came from Bill Clinton, when he said, “abortion should be legal, safe and RARE”.
But I do believe strongly in the concept of “choice” in America. In fact, our country was founded on the concept of “liberty for all”, which implies that people should have a choice to do just about everything in this country. However, when it comes to the choice to get a Covid-19 vaccine shot or not, these same people who doggedly defend the right to choose to have an abortion mysteriously forget the very principle they have been fighting for. And the same goes for mask wearing.
The argument that they will make is that if you don’t get a shot or wear a mask, “you are killing people”. But let’s all recognize how ridiculous that rationalization is. First, this disease has over a 99% survival rate, and we have long since learned that people who get the vaccine can still be infected and can transmit this disease. People who choose not to get vaccinated or wear a mask are making a choice about the risks they are willing to take in order to live a normal life. This is a stance that even Dr. Anthony Fauci has recently suggested that we will ALL need to accept since Covid-19 may be with us forever. People who choose not to get a shot or wear a mask may also be making a comment that they are not willing to submit to fear, especially an irrational one that has been sold to us all by our politicians and the media.
Just a side note, it is amazing that the people who support the absolute right to an abortion will use the “you’re killing people” argument against people who would decline to get the shot or wear a mask. Can the hypocrisy get any thicker? Abortion has a 0% survival rate for the life being aborted. Whether you believe that a fetus is a lump of cells or a child in-the-making, as I do, you must admit that if an abortion is not performed, a child would be born in almost every case.
Another “choice” that many of these same people want to deny is the choice of a parent as to where to send their children to school. We all pay for a public-school education through our taxes and virtually every penny of that funding goes to the public-school system. If you would “choose” to send your children to a private school, the public-school system will keep your tax money and then you get the privilege of paying for a second education for you children through the tuition you will pay.
What this system says is that people with resources have the “choice” to pay for two educations, but the rest of country has no choice. Today, only about 9% of US families send their children to private schools and 91% have only one choice – public schools. If education was a business in America, it would be considered a monopoly, which is one thing our government is supposed to protect against. And that is because monopolies deliver high costs, poor service and virtually no innovation in a capitalistic society.
Do you know what percent of Congress people send their children to private schools? 45%. That is five times the rate of the average American. And, of course, virtually every US President with children of school age “chose” to send their children to private schools. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama “chose’ to send their children to the snooty and expensive Sidwell Friends School which would cost the rests of us over $40,000 a year to “choose” to send our first grader there. Of course, Bill said that Chelsea made that “choice”. What a cop out. John Kennedy actually created a school at the White House for Caroline and 10 of her closest friends, not a “choice” that the rest of us will have or could afford.
But as public schools stray from teaching the fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic and embracing controversial concepts like Critical Race Theory and Gender fluidity, parents need a real “choice”. CRT is not history and it is not even fact. It is, as its name implies, a theory that might have a place in colleges after minds have developed. It is not, however, appropriate for impressionable five, six and seven-year-olds who can’t understand the long-term implications of their decisions. For example, could I convince a five-year-old boy that he was actually a girl if I had access to him for six hours a day and almost 200 days a year. Certainly, but is that my job?
In America, shouldn’t our average or even poorer citizens have the same choice in the education of their children as our political leaders? Of course, but most our citizens can’t afford to pay for two educations, one through their taxes and one through tuition. Fundamentally, our tax money should follow the child, not a building, as in a voucher system. The sooner we can make that happen the sooner our educational system will begin to improve as public schools are forced to compete and get better, or die.
Now, as my friend Matt would point out, there are issues that need to be worked out as we make this transition. Private schools, for example, will need to ensure that children can even get to these schools as public schools do today. They will have to offer resources that will accommodate all special needs children and not just strip the most capable students from public schools. This would leave that system with only the biggest challenges to educate.
All of these issues can be worked out, but we must demand a commitment to real choice for all American families, not just the elite. When we get there, our schools will be better, our families will be stronger and our children will be smarter.
