Getting told I work for the government made my stomach twist into a knot. Another lecture on how to behave and a reminder of who I represent. Being a high school counselor is just one part of my identity. It is like I have to leave all the other pieces of myself at the door when I enter a public school. I Robot ready to clock in. Did my soul just die a bit by entering this cog of I own you so do not step out of line or else.
“I can’t believe I have to address unprofessional political attire.” What one thinks is political may not be the same meaning for the one wearing it. More than one educator has told me that a Turning Point shirt is now a political statement that has been banned from wearing as it is too offensive. That a person can be written up for wearing it. Colleagues turning in names for wearing a shirt they disagree with. I have colleagues who had hoped to get me in trouble and even looked forward to me being fired. Always seeming to be on one side of the debate.
I wonder if a teacher wearing a shirt with the one word, “freedom,” would have the same outward disgust and demand for persecution? Gossip spreads and eventually you find out who filed the complaint and what they had against you.
I watched the movie, “Truth and Treason,” and how these teens pushed against the ruling of the government in Germany under Hitler. They were beaten and brutalized. The youngest was sent to the guillotine. When he said, “don’t forget about me,” I thought what courage this 16 year-old had even when faced with death. Today we have people chanting “no more kings” or something like that, but if this were true then they would not be allowed to protest. They would end up in the same prison chamber beaten to a pulp like these young teenagers. We take for granted our freedom to complain about anything and everything.
I want out of the government owning me if that is what is expected. Get your kids out of public schools if this is the expectation because if they see me that way then you can imagine how they feel about you and your kids.
Read this on a post:
George Orwell (1903-1950) had a gift for cutting through illusions. Author of Animal Farm and 1984, he warned us of the dangers of propaganda, censorship, and blind conformity. This line, written in his essays, is a reminder of how deeply he valued free thought and education. For Orwell, the real danger was not just oppressive governments–but societies that stopped questioning, stopped learning, and became content with ignorance. His words still sting today, because they speak to a timeless truth: the survival of freedom depends on our willingness to think for ourselves.
“A generation of the unteachable is hanging upon us like a necklace of corpses” (George Orwell).
In the movie, the church puts up a sign “No Jews” even though they had been part of the congregation. The pastor couldn’t say it to their faces. As they are turned away, the other congregation entering the church say, “this is terrible, someone should do something about this” as they walk past the sign to enter the church.
Prayers, we are not those people. May we stand in what we know is right. May we reach out to help those being wronged. May we not stay silent. May we be the gap people need to know that they are not alone in any battle they are going through.
Blessings,
https://www.dreamsdontfade.com/ (updated a post on my blog and my website so check then out)
This song has power in its words! No Fear by Jon Reddick
I got enemies at every side
It ain't looking good, I ain't gonna lie
Arrows flying, devil's trying
To make me think I'm going down this time
You might think that I'd be afraid
Running scared with a shaken faith
But the God I know says it ain't over
The God I know is gonna make a way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9ajtA9psIQ&list=RDO9ajtA9psIQ&start_radio=1