Dear Editor,
Progressive columnist David Crisp’s latest column criticized Montana Senate Bill 99, requiring parental notification by school districts 48 hours before “providing human sexuality instruction.” He ridicules the parents who are concerned about what a freshly minted, purple-haired, 23-year-old teacher might want to tell their children about sexual identity.
He’s in perfect lockstep with the National Education Association teachers’ union. The NEA has been pushing their extreme sexual ideology in schools, including advising teachers to hide name and pronoun changes of kids who are confused about gender from parents. Last November, the NEA tweeted: “Educators love their students and know better than anyone what they need to learn and thrive.”
Do they, though? Do they know better than me what my daughter needs to learn and thrive? Does anyone at the NEA know what kind of jelly she likes on her PBJs that I pack in her lunch? Do they know that she loves the encouraging notes that I write to her every morning that she reads as she eats? Do they even know her name?
The institution of the family is pre-political, meaning that it has its own authority before that of the government. These rights are to be recognized and respected by the government. When it comes to positive outcomes for children, statistically there is no other arrangement that comes close to that of the intact, two-parent family because of the unique relationship between parents and their children. To benefit society, our government must protect and uphold that institution. Other than cases of abuse, addiction, or neglect, the decisions about children are best left to their parents, who really do know better than anyone what their children need to learn and thrive.
Progressive revolutionaries like David Crisp want teachers, doctors, and unelected bureaucrats to step between children and their parents, especially on sexual issues. Why is that? Why would they be openly hostile to parental rights and millennia of human experience when they know that it will only end up hurting children? This is the kind of thing that you see in repressive totalitarian regimes, like North Korea or China, where the government claims total authority over all things including children. As disturbing as his beliefs are, I’m glad that they’re on full display so that parents can know and be ready to fight this agenda hammer and tongs. We need more parents who are willing to step up at school board meetings and make changes through the ballot box.
Sean McGrew,
Billings
