by Carolyn Martin
The final blow happens in the blink of an eye, but the events leading up to it are clear warnings of what is to come. How many warning signs must be fully visible before homeschoolers join together to stop the taking of our freedom to educate our children? Or will we buy into the fear and give away our freedom for safety like the nation did after 9/11?
In the wake of the terrorist attacks against our country in 2001, the misnamed Patriot Act, which gave the government increased powers to surveil and collect data on citizens in violation of our right to privacy, was passed. It also brought forth the creation of TSA along with new security provisions at airports. A new acceptance of a surveillance state from the American people was birthed, bringing into existence many more policies resulting in the diminishing of our freedoms over the past two decades since that attack.
Unfortunately, a large group within the generation growing up in the shadow of 9/11 does not question the government’s insatiable appetite for control. As governments grow, their appetite for control over the people’s God-given liberties increases. The government’s most effective tool is fear. In 2020, they used the pandemic to give themselves more power over disease management, stripping people of their individual autonomy, personal responsibility, and rights of conscience.
With the tremendous growth of homeschooling during the pandemic, state governments are using any flashpoint to cry out for tighter controls on home education. Their juggernaut control over the education system is loosening, threatening their ability to transform our society into a fully atheistic, socialist one. Homeschooling stands firmly on the unalienable, God-given right of parents to educate their children. In Colorado, that God-given right is being undermined through well-meaning legislation and rules in the name of protecting children.