Get Thee Behind Me, Leftie. And Stay Away from Ma Youngin's!

Right when the Obama Administration plans its overhaul of No Child Left Behind, 10 conservatives win a Texas Board of Education vote to change the way K-12 students learn social sciences, not only in Texas but across the nation. Since Texas is one of the largest buyers of textbooks and thus has an influence on the publishing industry, this vote--pushed through by nary a social science expert--could effect the way children in many other states learn history, economics, and social studies. Among the many disturbing changes--including the white-washing of history and the promotion of capitalism and blind patriotism--the main goal of the new indoctrination revised curriculum is to shift the tone from an alledgedly liberal bias to one that espouses more Christian conservative values. A more "fair and balanced" approach, if you will.
George W. Bush is from Texas (well, really from Connecticut but whatever) and he instated the No Child Left Behind law in the first place. Throughout his administration he presented himself as someone who identified strongly with the ideologies of the 10 Texan vigilantes board members. So I wonder what exactly was meant by his phrase "no child left behind." Did it mean more than the obvious: preparing each and every one of America's children to become knowledgeable, productive middle class citizens? Or did it also tap into a bit of wordplay?: "left-behind," as in "the politics of the left and the "liberal media" will cause our children to fall behind in morality and Christian values if we don't stamp out their influence soon. We must not allow our children to be left-behind."

Or was the phrasing meant to tap into the psyche of enthusiasts of the Left Behind series, which conjures up some of the same feelings for its readers: "the politics of the left and the "liberal media" will cause mankind to fall behind in morality and Christian values and we won't go to Heaven when the rapture comes if we don't stamp out their influence soon." Substitute "mankind" with "our children" and "we" with "they," and voila: no child Left Behind.

This may all seem far-fetched, but I wouldn't underestimate the power of suggestion, particularly when the same memetic phrasing is embedded throughout popular culture in various forms that seem unrelated on the surface, but are really quite similar once you delve deeper. Whatever the memetic trajectory of these ideas, the suggestive phrasing of Bush's initiative is finally being carried out by the Board of Education of his own home state in a way that will effect the entire nation. And not a moment too soon now that their enemy (the Anti-Christ Commie Leftie Liberal) is tampering with their "Savior's" original law. Mission accomplished?