You say you want a revolution?

Well, alright. President Obama has overstepped. I’ll have to be more specific. His May 13 declaration that Title IX discrimination rules apply to a student’s gender identity du jour as well as his biological gender was a political decision based on almost no science, little history and scant legal authority. He will get away with it unless we in flyover country just say “no.”

Saying no looks like a score of more of governors and attorney generals suing the administration and warning independent school districts that states provide more education funds than does the federal government. Saying no looks like a thousand or more school districts suing the administration for this imperial changing of established guidelines. A class action suit would fit the bill I think. Add to these actions thousands of schools that say, “We will act according to our own policies, thank you.” And of course there are parents whose part in public education is often underemphasized. Parents, now as well as yesterday, must decide who will assist them in educating their children. But these parents are also taxpayers with the right to decide if local bond and sales taxes related to schools are approved. If school boards know that state funding as well as local funding will be affected by their silly dalliance with gender politics, they might find the courage to say “no” also.

The result of policies requiring teachers to refer to a student by his “preferred” pronouns and to keep the fact that Bobby goes by Betty while he’s at school from Bobby’s parents, is advocacy for novel definitions of sex and gender. Bobby is not being accommodated by this servant of the local community; he is being counseled down a path away from health and mature happiness. He’s being counseled by those his parents employ. It’s outrageous. The question really is whether or not we are capable of feeling and productively expressing outrage when the children of our cities are so oppressed. I honestly don’t know that we are, but this is a big moment.

Understand, I don’t mind if a local school accommodates a gender-confused student out of compassion. In fact, I think it’s commendable to do so. Minor children, by definition, need rational adults to assist them, provide for them and counsel them. That’s why policies like the one adopted by the Fort Worth ISD and threats like the one offered by the Obama Department of Education are such a betrayal. The result of policies requiring teachers to refer to a student by his “preferred” pronouns and to keep the fact that Bobby goes by Betty while he’s at school from Bobby’s parents, is advocacy for novel definitions of sex and gender. Bobby is not being accommodated by this servant of the local community; he is being counseled down a path away from health and mature happiness. He’s being counseled by those his parents employ. It’s outrageous. The question really is whether or not we are capable of feeling and productively expressing outrage when the children of our cities are so oppressed. I honestly don’t know that we are, but this is a big moment.

We are deciding a couple of foundational things right now. First, we are deciding if we want any control more local than national over the institutions we locally fund. Do we any longer believe that there are things we understand about our neighborhood that people who’ve never been here or lived anywhere remotely similar cannot understand? Are our neighbors, who serve on the school board, administer public institutions, and work part time in the Texas legislature, servants of our communities or servants of transitory national political agendas? It’s a real question and one that requires a different answer than the one we have given in recent days.

Second, we are deciding who disciples our children. If I had a child in the Fort Worth ISD or any other district determined to keep my child’s mental, spiritual or physical issues from me, I’d fire them. If I couldn’t literally end the employment of the superintendent, I’d find someone else to help me train my children—effectively firing public schools as my assistants in teaching. It will cost you to do that. It cost me thousands, delayed home ownership, leaned out my retirement income and perhaps had other effects I have not considered to disciple my own children this way. I have no regrets.

Really guys, if you needed to hire a nanny to teach your children important things like math, language, the origin of man, the nature of man, the nature of truth and the responsibilities of one person for another, and then give your kids to that nanny for seven hours a day, five days a week, 32 weeks a year, for 13 years (plus college) and know that this nanny and your child will keep secrets from you, you’d better know that nanny well and trust him to a degree you trust very few people.

Really guys, if you needed to hire a nanny to teach your children important things like math, language, the origin of man, the nature of man, the nature of truth and the responsibilities of one person for another, and then give your kids to that nanny for seven hours a day, five days a week, 32 weeks a year, for 13 years (plus college) and know that this nanny and your child will keep secrets from you, you’d better know that nanny well and trust him to a degree you trust very few people. We all like to think of ourselves as good parents. A good parent knows what goes into his kid’s mouth, his heart and his mind. Otherwise he’s not so good.

So yes, I’m saying that President Obama has given us a very personal chance to understand the issues in America. I think we do have the real power to offer an amendment to his rebuilding of our society. But Lord help us, I’m not sure we are generally unified enough to do it or even that we care enough to seriously consider our response.  

Whether we are or are not, this is a watershed. You will remember that this happened and you will associate many things not yet done with our actions, or inaction, regarding the education of our children, the education of your children, in the spring of 2016.