Yep, I know lots of Conservatives hate Johann Hari, but I think he's great. He has the Cheriesque disability of saying what Liberal's really believe. No Nu Lab equivocation with him. Take, for example, the sleazy sleight of hand Liberal critics of faith schools usually employ. They try and say that, gosh darn it, they're really big fans of religion, but they just don't think any one particular faith should predominate in a school 'cause, hey, who are we to say how God really feels about bacon sandwiches ? Blah, blah, blah. Now, here's Hari on the same topic:
Segregating children according to their parents' superstitions is a great way to create a volatile, violent town where ethnic groups glare at each other across a chasm of mutual incomprehension.
'Parent's superstitions'. See what I mean ? The Left's opposition to faith schools isn't based on some fuzzy-minded ecumenical thinking. The Left isn't promoting some value-neutral, agnostic worldview, it's promoting militant atheism. They hate religion for one simple reason: they want to replace it with their own faith, fundementalist State worship.
Of course, there's another factor in Hari's case- the same one that motivates Excitable Andy Sullivan:
Of course, there's another factor in Hari's case- the same one that motivates Excitable Andy Sullivan:
Most religious schools preach one chunk of reactionary morality or another, all causing terrible harm to children.
It's the terrible harm of morality. Huh ? Fortunatly, we have an example to hand of what Hari counts as 'reactionary morality':
[I have written] in favour of understanding and embracing despised minorities like gypsies and paedophiles...
Yet, somehow parents keep choosing to send their kids to faith schools instead of to schools full of people who believe we need to reach out to Ian Huntley.
Needless to say, just as Hari's opposition to religion in schools turns out to mean that he thinks schools should be brainwashing the kids into culturally Marxist rubbish, so all this just means he wants to impose his own warped morality:
Needless to say, just as Hari's opposition to religion in schools turns out to mean that he thinks schools should be brainwashing the kids into culturally Marxist rubbish, so all this just means he wants to impose his own warped morality:
Some of the new evangelical city academies - models for the new faith schools - openly admit they are "anti-gay" and urge gay pupils to "choose another path". There is a real risk that, having abolished Section 28 by the front door, the spread of homophobic faith schools reintroduces it by the back door for thousands of schoolchildren.
As ever, the point needs to be made that passing laws preventing public money being spent on, say, promoting bike riding is hardly proof that the government is seeking to run down everyone wearing lycra. Equally, isn't Hari making a moral point of his own here ? He thinks people who oppose the gay lifestyle shouldn't be allowed to teach - whatever you think of Clause 28, there was never any question of purging those teachers who thought wild big man a$z hunting was a fine way to spend a weekend.
The substantive point though is this: Liberals have been enraged by faith schools for years, yet parents keep sending their kids to them, morality and all. Ditto, these schools keep beating their opposite numbers on the Left so hollow that the L3 are forced to resort to whiny special pleading about faith schools using up all the education so kids at Karl Marx Comp end up studying the history of the letterbox and Jackie Collins' novels. So, the public like faith schools and they work, but Hari and his fellow travellors want to destroy them. Hundreds of years of history and culture will be destroyed in an educational Year Zero, with the kids herded into Nu Schools, whence they will be indoctrinated in a foul and depraved ideology responsible for the deaths of over 100 million in the last century alone. And this guy complains about other people trying to impose their morality ?
Tip'o'the'hat to Laban.
The substantive point though is this: Liberals have been enraged by faith schools for years, yet parents keep sending their kids to them, morality and all. Ditto, these schools keep beating their opposite numbers on the Left so hollow that the L3 are forced to resort to whiny special pleading about faith schools using up all the education so kids at Karl Marx Comp end up studying the history of the letterbox and Jackie Collins' novels. So, the public like faith schools and they work, but Hari and his fellow travellors want to destroy them. Hundreds of years of history and culture will be destroyed in an educational Year Zero, with the kids herded into Nu Schools, whence they will be indoctrinated in a foul and depraved ideology responsible for the deaths of over 100 million in the last century alone. And this guy complains about other people trying to impose their morality ?
Tip'o'the'hat to Laban.
UPDATE:
It appears I've had a religious experience - possession by the Demon of Bad Writing. Just to clairfy - I think Hari would be making a defensible point if he wanted schools to follow the old rules for the Officer's Mess ('no religion, no politics') but it's quite obvious that what he wants to impose (not merely offer the choice of) is a school curriculum pushing a very definite religious doctrine (atheism) as part of a very definite worldview (Marxism).
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