John Vibes

August 21, 2015

(ANTIMEDIA) Hastings School District in Nebraska recently caught the attention of the ACLU by forcing teachers to sign a pledge promising to propagandize children with nationalistic propaganda.

The pledge demanded that teachers mold students to have “love and devotion” for the U.S. government, giving a glimpse into the true motive of government education.

The issue was quickly noticed by the ACLU, which deemed the policy unconstitutional and demanded the school district stop forcing the teachers to make such a promise.

“You need to know that the statute is a dead letter law which has been clearly overruled by the highest court in the land. Attempting to enforce the state statute is unconstitutional and will expose the school district to liability to a civil rights lawsuit,” the ACLU said in a statement last week.

Hastings Public Schools Superintendent Craig Kautz denied that the teachers were forced to signed the pledge, claiming they would not lose their jobs if they refused to sign it. However, if the teachers were not explicitly aware of this fact, then they really were forced — and Kautz made no mention of whether or not the teachers were aware of the specifics of the policy.

“So, for the first time in my working career we basically asked our staff to do that — our teaching staff — the minimum required by statute. Our job is to comply with the law to the best of our ability. But to say that we are forcing employees to take a McCarthy-era loyalty oath is just not accurate,” Kautz claimed.

Amy Miller, legal director for ACLU of Nebraska, explained that a policy like this could force employees to choose between their beliefs and their jobs.

“The employees we’ve spoken to love their jobs. But they have deeply held beliefs that do not permit them to sign an outdated McCarthy era pledge,” she wrote. “I am sure that your office wants to support valuable employees and not force them to choose between their jobs and their principles,” she said.

Whether or not the policy is unconstitutional is more or less irrelevant. What is truly important is that schools are obviously explicitly spreading nationalistic propaganda to impressionable children.

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John Vibes is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter-culture and the drug war. In addition to his writing and activist work he organizes a number of large events including the Free Your Mind Conference, which features top caliber speakers and whistle-blowers from all over the world. You can contact him and stay connected to his work at his Facebook page. You can find his 65 chapter Book entitled “Alchemy of the Timeless Renaissance” at bookpatch.com.