At this point we have all seen the stories about distorted accounts of history and factual inaccuracies in Common Core learning materials, but a new report about a textbook being used at the University of South Carolina just might take the cake as the most baselessly bias.
The textbook, authored by Karen K. Kirst-Ashman, suggests former President Ronald Reagan was a sexist and says conservatives view individuals as lazy and corrupt. It was assigned reading for the university’s three-credit course titled, “Introduction to Social Work Profession and Social Welfare.”
Anna Chapman, a sophomore at the University of South Carolina, told Campus Reform, “I cannot even tell you how angry I was when I read that.”
“Man, I have to tell you, University of South Carolina has a textbook out where they describe what conservatives are and what conservatives believe. I take umbrage with some of what they say,” Glenn said on radio this morning. “Let me give you this: ‘Conservatism is the philosophy that individuals are responsible for themselves. Government should provide minimal interference in people's lives and change is generally unnecessary.’ No, that has nothing to do with it.”
Students in the class were required to read selections such as “Conservative Extremes in the 1980’s and Early 1990’s,” which claims President Reagan “ascribed to women primarily domestic functions’ and failed to appoint many women to significant positions of power during his presidency.” Chapman told Campus Reform no other readings that provided a counter political viewpoint were assigned.
Below is a photo of the textbook page that defines ‘conservatism’:
Image source: Campus Reform
The textbook cites Popple and Leighninger’s three concepts that “characterize conservatism”:
“Frist, conservatives usually oppose change and thrive on tradition. ‘They believe that change usually produces more negative then positive consequences; thus they generally favor keeping things as they are’… In other words, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Second, conservatives ‘tend to take a basically pessimistic view of human nature. People are conceived of as being corrupt, self-centered, lazy, and incapable of true charity’… Third, conservatives usually conceive of people as perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. Thus implies that if people would only work hard and take responsibility for their actions, they wouldn’t need any help…”
Glenn could not help but take offense to every one of those points. For starters, it is progressives not conservatives that believe people are incapable of charity.
“This is crazy because they're trying to make the point that they don't feel it. They're trying to make us look evil. We're incapable of true charity, but every study shows conservatives are more charitable than progressives,” Glenn said. We happen to believe in America where we take care of each other. The progressives believe that people are incapable of charity and that's why taxes are charity to them… But [when it comes to] actually reaching into your pocket to give, conservatives beat them every time. It's a landslide. So we are the ones who believe that people are charitable.”
What Glenn found particularly interesting was the textbook’s assertions that conservatives believe people are corrupt, self-centered, and lazy. When you consider the ‘nudge’ theory propagated by progressives like Cass Sunstein, it becomes abundantly clear that is actually a progressives view point.
“Let's look at this lazy thing for a second. Progressives are proving that they are the ones who believe people are lazy because we're the ones that are saying, ‘Do your own homework.’ No, you should be the one that is a self-starter. You should be an entrepreneur, you should be able to pursue your own happiness, you should be able to start your own business, you should be able to go your own way because we know people are not lazy,” Glenn explained. “In the natural state, are people lazy? Well, let's ask Cass Sunstein, because isn't that the point of animal spirits. Isn't that the point of Nudge? The point of Nudge is: You're so lazy that if they put the French Fries out of arm's reach, you'll go for the carrot because that’s a long way to reach.”
Furthermore, Glenn explained conservatives believe in an ‘ownership society’ that is diametrically opposed to the tenants of progressivism, socialism, and communism. It is not just a material ownership but also a personal responsibility.
“Conservatives believe that we are really an ownership society. I own my mistakes. Whatever happened to you, own it… I'm an alcoholic. Own it,” Glenn said. “But on the flip side, we also demand that you own your own mistakes and you own the things that have happened in your life because we believe you are more than a collection of your experiences. We actually believe in redemption. We also believe you have a right to own the good things in your life. Yes, Mr. President, I did build that. You weren't here. I had to have a team of attorneys that sat here and tried to sift through the laws to see what I could and couldn't do. You were an obstruction. I built this in spite of you. That's the difference.”
Ultimately, this textbook is just the latest iteration of a progressive education system that is hoping to indoctrinate our children with these ideas at a young age.
“This is just the beginning of this textbook from South Carolina…This is the influence of the progressives in education. This is what they're teaching,” Glenn concluded. “And what is it that progressives believe? They know better than you. They will teach you because the little people don't have to really be listened to. We'll talk to them every six years for an election, but we're not going really talk to them.”
Front page image courtesy of the AP
