Tuesday, July 29, 2008

NEA Continues To Push A Homosexual Agenda

I am exceedingly tolerant about homosexuality, but I do not think that everyone else in the country should have a radical homosexual agenda pushed on them by anyone.

I would prefer the NEA concerned itself with being a labor union, focusing on Darren's pay, benefits, and working conditions, and not serving as a not-even-subtle far-left-wing social organization. No, I don't want them even concerning themselves with education--I'm compelled to pay them money ostensibly because they "represent" me somehow in negotiations with my employer, I want them representing me. Education, and the students involved, are the purview of the parents, state legislators, and school boards.

But back to the topic at hand. I've identified before how NEA gives plenty of my extorted money to gay groups and organizations (see here). Their myriad resolutions contain many pro-gay points. Let's see how they're pushing the agenda this year:

The nation's largest teachers union, the National Education Association, attracted 9,000 delegates to its annual convention in Washington, D.C. over the Fourth of July weekend. Delegates sported buttons with provocative slogans such as "Gay marriage causes Global Warming only because we are so hot!", "Hate is not a family value," "The 'Christian Right' is neither," and "Gay Rights are civil rights."


While I can actually agree with the last message, I don't quite see why my labor union needs to use my money to push this message. It's not--or it shouldn't be--their charter.

The influence of the gay lobby is pervasive in dozens of NEA resolutions adopted by 2008 convention delegates. Diversity is the code word used for pro-gay indoctrination in the classroom.

The NEA's diversity resolution makes clear that this means teaching about "sexual orientation" and "gender identification," words that are repeated in dozens of resolutions. The NEA demands that "diversity-based curricula" even be imposed on preschoolers.
Homosexuality is still a hot-button issue in our culture. I would prefer that parents pass on their own values to their children, not have left-wing values--even if I happen to agree with some of those values--forced upon children by their teachers in government education centers. When it comes to the values our schools should teach, I side with teaching tolerance as opposed to acceptance; let people think what they want. Schools shouldn't be taking a stance on moral issues that are still controversial. The schools should enforce appropriate codes of conduct, not thought.

The NEA is pushing plenty of other left-wing issues, too:

NEA resolutions cover the waterfront of all sorts of political issues that have nothing to do with improving education for schoolchildren, such as supporting statehood for the District of Columbia, a "single-payer health care plan" (i.e., government-run), gun control, ratification of the International Criminal Court Treaty, and taking steps "to change activities that contribute to global climate change"...

NEA resolutions include all the major feminist goals such as "the right to reproductive freedom" (i.e., abortion on demand); "comparable worth" (i.e., government control of wages according to feminist ideology rather than the free market); full funding for the feminist boondoggle called the Women's Educational Equity Act; and "the use of nonsexist language," i.e., censoring out all masculine words such as husband and father.


Keep in mind: I disagree with the author above in that I don't want a labor union worrying about the education of schoolchildren. If parents, legislators, and school boards are not looking out for children, and some other private organization is needed to do so, then let that organization live off of private donations and not via money extorted from my paycheck.

There are already plenty of pro-gay organizations out there. The NEA doesn't need to carry this (rainbow) banner. What do I think they should do? They could get their Democrat buddies in Congress to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision. Now that would be just, would restore fairness to our retirement system--and would directly benefit Darren. I wonder how much time and money the NEA spends on that compared to pushing a radical homosexual agenda.

Update, 7/31/08: Dr. Pezz attended the Rep Assembly and says that while the pins were for sale, the NEA was not pushing this particular message. The linked article implied that delegates were given these pins, and that might not be the case.

10 comments:

Mike said...

I couldn't agree with you more. The unions are, once again, out of line here. Gay rights (something I believe in), global warming (something I think needs to be debated), gun control (something I mostly oppose), etc are not the business of the NEA.

You hit the nail on the head here: "When it comes to the values our schools should teach, I side with teaching tolerance as opposed to acceptance; let people think what they want...The schools should enforce appropriate codes of conduct, not thought."

If people are forced to take one side of a controversial issue, then is this really a "free country"?

Melissa B. said...

In my district, we can't even concern ourselves with the NEA's or the AFT's doings. We're a "right to work" state, so these orgs aren't unions--they're "professional associations." How lame is that?

Darren said...

Melissa, I long for what you take for granted.

Ellen K said...

Wow NEA, way to rally the conservatives to force a voucher system. I don't know that even the staunchest liberals will be able to dodge the response on this one. I still do not understand why an educational organization is worried about gay rights when student graduation rates are dropping. Is it a diversion? AS for the WEP, I would like to be able to access my social security from years of work in the real world. I would love to know what they plan on using those funds for instead.

Anonymous said...

First, I'm not a teacher. I'm a journalist for an LGBT newspaper.

I think you made a lot of great points. Perhaps the NEA needs a partner organization that is exclusively an advocacy organization for education welfare (not "welfare" welfare, but like the "welfare of the nation" kind of welfare).

Law and Order Teacher said...

My fondest wish has been that the NEA would someday be charged with being a shill for the Dems. They certainly aren't a union; they have sunk to being nothing but an advocacy group for left wing causes. Their ability to advocate for teachers has taken a backseat to advocacy for the Dems and their mutual agenda. All on my dime.

Darren said...

Anonymous journalist: that you appreciate this post is very rewarding to me. Email me (contact info in my profile) and let's talk more!

Unknown said...

Wow, someone else who notices this and talks about it. I was more than a little annoyed when the Oregon Education Association sent out flyers telling people how to vote on an abortion initiative that was about informed consent. This was in about 2006. At that point I pulled my money out of the Political Action committee, I didn't want my money to go to support stuff that had NOTHING to do with education.

They were telling people that mandatory informed consent was bad, even though there was a loophole for kids from abusive households to protect them. I still can't figure how the OEA should have anything at all to do with abortion rights legislation.

Ellen K said...

Western folks-Doesn't it worry you that you are being told how to vote? Offering information is one thing, but having a list of expected outcomes seems pretty slanted. How are they not getting slammed as being part of a political party?

Darren said...

EllenK, I don't understand your comment addressed to Western folks. The NEA is, sadly, everywhere.