Government dumbs down education

6/21/2008

Mercury found in Ohio waters because of coal-fired power plants? None of this comes as a surprise. I figured we would be the undoing of our very selves with all the coal-based products we have learned to depend upon.

There is no shock that something as black as death produces death and as thick as cholesterol clogs up our neurological receptor sites. It is shocking how well our government has been able to sell premature death under the false pretense that it would bring prosperity and increased quality of life to us.

It is embarrassing to watch the platform they have used to make possible the dumbing-down approach found in the majority of public-school education formats. Before opting to be home-schooled, my children experienced the onslaught of governmental standardized test batteries that have become the rule of thumb used to determine whether a school district measures up to receive its mandatory federal and state dollars.

I would like to see the government's response if Americans chose to ignore paying income tax because the government chose to stipulate how education dollars would be allocated and distributed to school districts. Few educators have the freedom to teach their students because they are expected to prepare the students to survive and pass federal test standards for survival's sake. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Waste is a terrible thing to expose to the mind.

Rachael Koehler

Asbury Drive

Regarding Dr. Amjad Hussain's June 16 column, I think he missed the main point of the Rev. Patrick Rohen's original letter. It was not a slap at Islam at all, rather, at the "progressive" sisters.

After Vatican II, more emphasis began to be placed on un-ordained Catholics in terms of liturgical participation. Unfortunately, the pendulum has continued to swing farther in that direction without the approval of the Holy See.

The sisters are not permitted to "bless" an icon, and they overstepped their boundaries. This is the true "embarrassing situation" for the Catholic Diocese of Toledo. Unlike Islam, the Catholic Church has a hierarchy with its seat in Rome, and our laws and directives flow from it.

Therefore, when the media or anyone else refers to a Catholic as a "conservative Catholic" or a "liberal Catholic," they are showing their ignorance of catholicism. They are offering a misnomer, for there are really only two types of Catholics: those who follow the church, and those who don't.

As Father Rohen pointed out, the sisters acted against rules and directives set down by our church. When he said that the sisters should convert to Islam, he was simply pointing out that they certainly weren't acting as Catholics. As for the veil: As sisters all over the country cling to the cult of progressivism, many have fallen away from the tradition of wearing the habit. I'm sure that Father Rohen was merely longing for a forgotten age when the sisters wore the veil and adhered to the directives of the church.

I'm sure that we can all agree that interfaith dialogue will become much easier when we stop looking for insults where there are none, and erase our own "ignorance" before we attack others.

Blase G. Hennessy

Airport Highway

Once again, Dr. Amjad Hussain, a Blade columnist, has addressed the delicate topic of religious perspectives with wisdom and insight. He never fails to raise the bar on thoughtful dialogue to expand one s thinking toward the greater good.

What an important voice in our community.

BARBARA EIKOST

Perrysburg