Aldous Huxley at Auraria?

Last week I was on the Auraria campus of CU-Denver a couple of times for notable events. On Sept. 11, President Hank Brown launched a new lecture series under his personal sponsorship, hosting John Agresto for a discussion of lessons about the American character in light of our Iraq experience and the struggle against terrorism. Then on Sept. 15, a statewide teen conference in honor of Constitution Day was presented on campus by LibertyDay.org, the national civics project headed by Andy McKean of Littleton.

Several impressions stayed with me. One, education for citizenship isn't quite as dead at our high schools and colleges as curmudgeons like me sometimes claim, though it still needs a lot of reviving.

Two, the Auraria campus buildings and grounds look great -- well-appointed, attentively maintained, and with visible signs of expansion. No evidence of the alleged financial crisis of Colorado higher education meets the eye.

Three, it always saddens me to see Auraria's grand old churches (including our state's first synagogue) now serving mostly as museums, historic sites, or secular meeting facilities rather than houses of worship. You couldn't have a more vivid symbol of our current practice of drawing down the West's moral and spiritual heritage, rather than sustaining it as integral to the process of cultural transmission and learning.

Fourth -- and in my opinion the most revealing detail of all, though seemingly small -- what volumes were spoken about our times by a men's-room vending machine in one of the classroom buildings.

The items for sale were condoms, Excedrin, Tylenol, and Tic-Tacs: little packages, none more than a dollar, fully equipping your modern college guy for the day's eventualities of pleasure, pain, and politeness as he acquires higher learning.

Will it occur to him, if Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" happens be assigned in one of his English classes, that the state-sponsored, responsibility-sapping availability of Soma bliss and recreational sex envisioned by Huxley is not far from being realized in the here and now?

And even if it does, will he recognize the danger this poses to himself, his generation, and our country? I hope so, but I doubt it.

[Cross-posted at PoliticsWest.com]

Ministry from on high

That was the Los Angeles Times front-page headline on Aug. 16 about prayer flights over Denver in a helicopter, sparked by two guys from my church, pilot Jeff Puckett and pastor Tom Melton. Similar story in Denver Post on Aug. 31. TV interest bubbling with ABC, CBS, and Fox. Puckett, who has now carried aloft over 1100 individuals on the weekly flights, calls his chopper "Prayer One." Pretty neat.

Ignorant educators at it again

How about that Dwight Jones? The newly appointed Colorado Education Commissioner, in one of his last official acts as superintendent of Fountain-Fort Carson school district, made sure the students in his 2007 graduating class were protected from such dangerous propaganda as a pocket booklet containing the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Whew, that was close; well done, Dr. Jones. Erin Emery reports in the Denver Post that Jones's District 8 was one of two in the Colorado Springs area that rebuffed the gift offer from El Paso County commissioner Douglas Bruce last spring. Officials in Lewis-Palmer District 38 also stood vigilant against the suspicious stranger offering political candy to kids. At least 12 other districts accepted the booklets for distribution to graduates.

A District 38 spokeswoman explained that the school board, administrators, and principal decided "if they let him hand out something that he thought was innocuous then, of course, we couldn't say no to anyone else." Indeed, what might be next: Hare Krishna tracts, oil industry climate propaganda, perhaps even condoms? Us guardians of young minds had best draw a firm line and keep'em all out.

Now consider: if high-ranking educators made a language blooper like using "us" as the subject of a sentence, everyone might -- might -- notice and protest. But these ignoramuses in D-8 and D-38 have committed a far worse civic and philosophic outrage, and you can bet this story will have no legs at all. A controversial citizen, Bruce, gets the brushoff from a well-credentialed PhD, Jones -- so what? The world yawns.

Do I exaggerate? It truly is a civic outrage when D-38's Robin Adair can damn America's charter of self-government with faint praise as "a lovely document [that] we have[n't] anything against." And it's a philosophic outrage when she can describe the Constitution, on behalf of the people's elected board of education, as "something that he [Bruce] thought was innocuous."

Notice the intellectually fashionable, scrupulously neutral relativism in those words. The school board isn't saying the booklet with our founding documents is noxious, but they're not saying it's innocuous either. The latter is just some guy's opinion -- handled sniffily with rubber gloves and tongs by the antiseptic agents of officialdom. Post-modernists everywhere applaud, while in Beijing and Havana ironic smiles break out: they know quite well how noxious Doug Bruce's little gift really is.

What we're really glimpsing here -- at least in the Lewis-Palmer case, since at Fountain-Fort Carson no reason was given -- is the toxic multiculturalism that now pervades American education at all levels. Prof. Thomas Krannawitter of Hillsdale College defined it well in the Investor's Business Daily the other day:

"Multiculturalism... agrees on balance that there is no objective truth, especially no moral or political truth, to be discovered by human reason.... The real test of multicultural education is whether one has freed one's mind from the trappings of one's own culture -- especially... American culture..." Bingo. Ms. Adair probably had no idea that's what she was voicing. But she was. Shame on her, her employers, and Commissioner Dwight Jones. What over-educated fools they all are.

To end on an up note, though, Coloradans can be grateful and proud that we have in our backyard the Littleton-based Liberty Day organization, a national volunteer powerhouse dedicated to giving students across the country -- you guessed it -- pocket copies of the Constitution and Declaration.

Andy McKean, the founder, is working with high-schooler Jimmy Sengenberger to host a statewide conference for students on Saturday, September 15, at CU-Denver, where a spectrum of speakers (me included) will talk about what the Constitution means and why it's so noxious to tyrants of every size, grand and petty alike. Do you know a teen who ought to attend? Here's the link for more information.

God save our states

August 1 being Colorado statehood day, I got to thinking about the role of the states in our federal union. Joanna Barton, who teaches government at a London prep school, told me last week on the Glenwood train that she's spending a month here trying to figure that out. Bottom-up diversity from state to state in politics, economics, and culture is one of the glories of America. One trait that is remarkably similar across all 50 states, however, is the grounding of their form of government on spiritual reliance, not on the secularism so fashionable today.

Colorado joined the Union on Aug. 1, 1876, with a state constitution whose preamble reads:

We, the people of Colorado, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, in order to form a more independent and perfect government; establish justice; insure tranquillity; provide for the common defense; promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the "State of Colorado".

The drafters met by authority of an Enabling Act of the US Congress, which stipulated that the new state's

constitution shall be republican in form... and not be repugnant to the constitution of the United States and the principles of the declaration of independence; and... that perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall be secured, and no inhabitant of said state shall ever be molested in person or property, on account of his or her mode of religious worship.

The Declaration of Independence, in turn, reverently invokes God not once but four times: as lawgiver, "Creator," "Supreme Judge of the World," and "Divine Providence." Its principles, to which Colorado's constitution-makers were obligated to adhere, can hardly be called secularist.

As researcher William J. Federer has shown, every single state also reverently invokes God in its constitutional preamble or bill of rights. All fifty; no exceptions. Specifically looking at some of our neighboring western states, here's what we find:

* Arizona, 1911... "grateful to Almighty God for our liberties" * Idaho, 1889... "grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings" * Montana, 1889... "grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty" * Nevada, 1864... "grateful to Almighty God for our freedom" * New Mexico, 1911... "grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty" * Utah, 1896... "grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of life and liberty" * Wyoming, 1890... "grateful to God for our civil, political, and religious liberties"

Returning to the Centennial State as we mark our 131st birthday today, Colorado's motto bears remembering by all who compete politically here, and by all who await what state government may do to or for them. "Nil Sine Numine," it says in Latin; "Nothing without the Spirit."

Kiddie license plate? Gag me

Here we go again. Another initiative that's 'for the children.' And how you be against that, unless you're a cold, cruel heartless SOB? I'll do something really daring here... I'll inject logic and common sense into this discussion and risk being called all of the previous names. Here's what this is about: Starting August 1st, Colorado drivers around the state can purchase license plates for their vehicle that say ''Colorado Kids First.” A portion of the price of these plates can be directed to the non-profit or charity of the owner's choice. Sounds good at first, but here are some reasons why I don't like this slogan. And why for a healthy society, you shouldn't put 'Kids First.'

As a kid, you're not (or shouldn't be considered) 'first.' If your parents put you on a pedestal from early on (or cater to your every whim and wish), you'll probably be an egotistical idiot when you're an adult. Cases in point: Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsey Lohan.

You should learn a good work ethic by doing jobs you don't necessarily want to do. Such as – taking out the trash, cleaning the shop, and scooping manure. It keeps you humble, and makes you appreciate better jobs and situations when you get older. You should also learn to respect and get along with others, and your family members. Eventually you'll figure out (or should know) that life isn't about 'you first.'

If you get too self-absorbed, you'll miss out on the joys, curiosities, pleasures (and yes, pains) that life can bring. There's also a God in heaven (who is much bigger than you or I) who cares and wants the best for you and your life – no matter how complicated or difficult it may seem at times.

'Kids First' is a nice, feel-good, yuppie slogan that will lead to more Coloradoans buying these license plates. Which in turn will put more money in the coffers of the state and non-profit groups (which for the latter is fine).

Children are important in families, and should be protected and provided for. But this phrase seems to reflect a society that's forgotten common sense, wisdom and the real priorities in life.