Opinion: Vote out those who refuse to listen to parents

Letters to the Editor July 2, 2023 at 10:10am

For several years, we have watched our schools retreat from teaching math, science, and English and delve into sexual orientation, race-baiting, forced pronouns, and social justice. The result has been devastating to the education system, as we have watched test scores and school attendance plummet.

Yet despite this, Superintendent LaTonya McDade, School Board Chair Babur Lateef, and the other Democrats on the school board refuse to reverse their path towards the total destruction of our education system and the trust of parents.

Prince William County is not alone. As a matter of fact, we are still in the infancy of this total transformation of our children’s education. Although parents around the country have been in this fight for years, these school boards believe they know what is best and continue to push race-based equity and transgender policies in our schools, ultimately indoctrinating our innocent children.

While most people believe in a “live and let live” policy, school boards continue to ignore the wants and needs of the very parents who pay their salaries. They crossed a red line in the sand when they began exposing children to pornographic books and encouraging kids to change their identities without the knowledge of their parents.

Delegate Candi Mundon King (D-Prince William, Stafford) co-sponsored House Bill 2091, which allows minors to consent to gender transition while hiding medical records from their parents. This is a grave violation of parental trust and exposes children to sex long before they are old enough to know how gender confusion is even defined.

King was not alone. The other bill sponsors, all Democrats, Nadarius Clark (Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth), Patrick Hope (Arlington), Michelle Lopes Maldonado (Prince William, Manassas), Sam (Roanoke), and Marcus Simon (Fairfax). These so-called representatives of the people have crossed a line that cannot be mended.

Even the Democrats on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors have lost their way. Although everyone in Prince William County was thrilled to see Ann Wheeler ousted, she has been replaced with candidate Deshundra Jefferson (D), who fully supports King and the transgender takeover of our schools. It appears Democrats on boards across Prince William, Virginia, and the country have an agenda to push, and nothing will deter them.

They have gone too far.

Ultimately, they are supporting and pushing racism and transphobia. By indoctrinating our children and pushing the limits of what is ‘right,’ or ‘appropriate,” they force and highlight a negative view of race and transgenders, achieving exactly the opposite of the effect they claim to desire….disdain.

While they refuse to prioritize math, English, and science, we have watched test scores literally plunge into an abyss. At the same time, the one thing they have achieved is teaching children improper English by forcing fake, personal pronouns into their daily lessons. By forcing and punishing children if they don’t use these improper pronouns, it appears they are crossing a line within our constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech.

The Supreme Court just ruled, and Neil Gorsuch wrote, “The Constitution calls for tolerance of others’ speech and religious expression, not state-enforced coercion. Of course, abiding by the Constitution’s commitment to the freedom of speech means all of us will encounter ideas we consider ‘unattractive,’ … ‘misguided,’ or even hurtful,’ …but tolerance, not coercion, is our Nation’s answer. The First Amendment envisions the United States as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands.”

At this point, the only answer is to vote out those who refuse to listen to parents and start filing lawsuits against the education system that continues to violate our rights as parents.

No doubt, history will look back at the U.S. today and sigh: How did all of this idiocy happen? Look at the damage they did to a generation of kids.

Leigh Bravo
Gainesville

Editors note: Potomac Local News aims to share opinions on issues of local importance from a diverse range of residents across all our communities. If you’ve recently spoken at a Board of County Supervisors meeting, send us a typed copy of your remarks for publication to [email protected].