Invocation for the Dawn of a Red State School Year

Welcome back, Students,

you might notice a few

changes this year:

We cannot teach you

Real History,

nor Real Social Studies,

no genocide nor slavery

no systems of iniquities

and no Real Science,

nor even Real Biology,

lest you learn too much about

chromosomes and biodiversity

and the preacher down the street

should happen to disagree...

And no Real Literature,

even the classics

which your parents

and grandparents learned

...and loved...

And don't worry,

we've emptied

the shelves

in the library

of so many Real Books

about Real Lives

and Real Loves

of Real People

and Real Experiences

including the Reality

that human babies

are not delivered by storks

and also, that sexual abuse:

rape, and molestation,

are very Real Things, too.

And we can neither

Acknowledge nor Affirm

who you Really Are:

not your Pronouns

not your Name

And we cannot discuss

your Real Family

and your very Real Parents

who Really love the Real You

if they do not fit the

Aryan Family Ideal.

No! Not even

if your grandparents

and great-grandparents

or perhaps even

your great-great grandparents

fought against this Nazi nonsense

nearly a century ago.

No, now, our Statehouses

and our Governors

fully embrace it

and demand it

for you've got to be

carefully taught*

lest the teachers be

fined and fired

the dollars add up

the careers fade away

And remember,

Red State Students,

you don't need College

to Succeed

for the Corporations

are your Salvation

and they need Bodies

to Consume

the younger the better

We'll defund any University here

who dares to offer 'DEI'

And remember,

We can't have you

learning elsewhere

what we won't teach you here.

After all...

If Education is Power,

then Empires would crumble

and Tyrants might fall...

--

*the lyric, "you've got to be carefully taught," comes from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, 'South Pacific,' which was frequently banned for discussing topics such as racism and interracial marriage. It was more recently quoted by Lin Manuel-Miranda in 'Hamilton.'

--

2024, Rev. Le Anne Clausen de Montes. May be shared and reprinted with attribution. Le Anne is a former international human rights worker and peacemaker, prisoner of conscience, and pastor in the Presbyterian Church- PC(USA). She coordinates the Iowa Faith Leadership Network, Neurodiversity-Affirming Congregations, and the Center for Faith and Peacemaking. She resides and raises four children in Iowa, where a series of recent laws, including SF 496, ban books describing sex, LGBTQIA+ content, and other diversity-related content and materials from the public K-12 curriculum, and ban DEI support programs and content from public colleges and universities. Her most recent published work may be found in 'A Liturgy for All Bodies' (Cyclical, 2023).

Recent Ridiculousness, Right Here In River City...

 To briefly recap some recent ridiculousness, right here in River City, from the usual suspects:

1. 'We cannot possibly start any new projects to improve the city until the potholes are fixed, every last pothole, and there are no new potholes, forever. Only Mason City has potholes, and they keep having new potholes every year, and it is surely because we have bad leaders. All money for projects, even grant money, must be some taxpayer's money somewhere, and it would be better spent on fixing potholes, even if it's not legal to re-appropriate it for fixing potholes. Also: nobody ever does anything new or interesting around here. Our city leaders should definitely start some new projects or something interesting. I don't know why they don't try that. Just don't use any taxpayer or grant money to do it though.'

2. 'There are not enough high school marching bands in the Band Festival anymore. Surely this is because high schoolers Just Do Not Care, and not because the fifty school districts within driving distance fifty years ago have consolidated down to a fraction of that since the farm crisis. There are definitely more towns with high school bands in Minnesota. This definitely has nothing to do with the massive public education cuts made by the Iowa State legislature. It is definitely the fault of the local 'woke' school board. Also the local high school marching band can't possibly sound as good as it used to when it was under the Old Mascot.'

3. 'The local school board is full of 'Social Justice Warriors' who clearly hate teachers and that is why there's not an agreement on the teacher contract. The book-banning White Nationalist school board candidates who liked the Old Mascot and attacked trans students and hate immigrant students would definitely have given the teachers a better contract.'

4. 'There were never, ever, ever any Immigrant people who did not speak English in this town before. They all just showed up yesterday. My grandparents and great-grandparents spoke perfect English and never had to learn a new language when they got here five generations ago from [insert country]. The teachers back then never had to deal with immigrant children like they do now. No, don't show me any of your 'woke' historical photos or news clippings or the local cemetery or church records. Can't see how any of that would be relevant to this discussion.'

5. 'There aren't enough floats in the Band Festival. There need to be more floats. Why aren't there more floats? Also the parade is over two hours long. That's too much....'

(For the record, the Band Festival was one of the best in recent memory, and we had perfect weather for it Saturday. The bands were all amazing, especially our local band, and each high school band had an impressive number of kids participating given the size of their school districts. And there were at least 20 different languages being spoken in our local school district a century ago, many of them European and Eastern European, but also from around the world, due to our local industries).

Nearly a Century After Niemoeller...

First they came for the immigrants,

and I didn't speak up
because I wasn't an immigrant.

Then they came for the people who needed abortions,
and I didn't speak up
because I didn't need an abortion.

Then they came for the transgender people,
and I didn't speak up
because I wasn't transgender.

Then they came for the Muslims
and I didn't speak up
because I wasn't Muslim.

Then they came for the Jews
and I didn't speak up
because I wasn't Jewish.

Then they came for the people with disabilities
and I didn't speak up
because I didn't have a disability.

Then they came for the Black people
and I didn't speak up
because I wasn't Black.

Then they came for the teachers

then they came for the librarians

then they came for the scientists

then they came for the doctors

then they came for the union leaders

then they came for the journalists

then they came for the university professors

then they came for the university students

then they came for the 'liberal' pastors

they came for the homeless

they came for the hungry

they came for the sick

they came for the working poor

Nearly a century after Niemoeller wrote his poem,
why don't we see

we are repeating this terrible lesson
all over again?

First They Came for the Drag Queens

September 2023

First they came for the drag queens

And I didn’t speak up

Because I didn’t understand their ‘lifestyle.’

Then they came for the transgender kids

And I didn’t speak up

Because I didn’t understand their medical needs.

Then they came for the books

And the librarians and teachers who taught them

And I didn’t speak up

Because I wasn’t really into reading anyway

Then they came for the universities

And the public school boards

And tried to make them exclude anyone

Who wasn’t straight, wasn’t White, 

Or wasn’t their ‘brand’ of Christian.

But I didn’t speak up

Because I never liked school anyway.

Then they came for the journalists

They bought up all the newspapers

And closed them

And replaced them

With their own channels and websites

With their own ‘commentary’

And I didn’t speak up

Because I never paid much attention to news anyway

Then they came for the churches

And any pastor who dared to preach

‘Love your neighbor’

And fired them

And replaced them

With preachers 

Who would say whatever was needed

To keep a comfortable paycheck

And I didn’t speak up

Because these new celebrity preachers

Had higher production values

They came for the Immigrants

And I didn’t speak up

Because they told us welcoming them

Would take something away from us

Instead of adding more to who we are

They came for the Muslims

And I didn’t speak up

Because I believed them 

When they said these were the enemy

They came for the Jews

And I didn’t speak up

Because I believed them

When they said the Holocaust wasn’t real

They came for the Black people

They called them criminals, dangerous

Even the ones in preschool

Hauling them away in police cars

Beating them on the side of the road

Leaving them to die in the alleys

And I believed them

Because police are always here to help, right?

They came for the Native Americans

And I didn’t speak up

Because they told me they had

Plenty of money from the casinos and 

Nobody else to blame for their problems anymore.

They came for the women

Denied us our futures

Denied us protection from our abusers

Denied us accountability for our rapists

Denied us the ability to keep our children safe

While we worked to pursue our own talents and dreams

And so we slowly began to disappear again

Silenced like everyone else

Just like they always wanted.

A Letter of (Enthusiastic) Consent

A Letter of Enthusiastic Consent

(In response to current proposed measures in the Iowa State Legislature).

I wholeheartedly give my consent for my children to read any book they wish that teachers and librarians find in their expertise as educators to have educational value and put in their classrooms, school libraries, and public libraries. I especially want my children to be able to read any book written by a person of color, a person of a different religious background or nationality, a person with a disability, or an LGBTQIA+ person.

I absolutely DO NOT GIVE CONSENT for a small group of bigoted religious extremists to ban any book from the public schools and libraries in my community, especially those which are first-person narratives or historical accounts from people of a different racial, ethnic, gender identity, religious, or disability background.

I wholeheartedly give my consent for any teacher, counselor, staff, or administrator to listen to my child and offer support and affirmation if my child needs a trusted adult to discuss gender identity, orientation or other concerns with them.

I absolutely DO NOT GIVE CONSENT for a small group of bigoted religious extremists to censor public school teachers, staff, and administrators from ever acknowledging racial, gender and orientation differences in the classroom, especially if it is acknowledging and supporting the identities of students in the classroom or students' family and loved ones.

I wholeheartedly give my consent for any teacher, counselor, staff, or administrator to use the name and pronouns my child may wish to be called, even if my child is not ready to tell me yet. I also affirm that I am fully accepting of my child for whoever they may be and will not engage in any form of verbal, physical, or psychological abuse towards them, nor will I kick them out of my home or threaten them with religious consequences if they identify as LGBTQ+. I am even willing to provide a safe home for any friend or classmate of my child who suddenly finds themselves in danger at their own home because they have come out, or been outed, as LGBTQ+.

I absolutely DO NOT GIVE CONSENT for a small group of religious extremists to put other students in potential danger in their own homes, nor to terrorize teachers, administrators, and staff with threats of heavy penalties, if they need to act or speak up to support the safety and wellbeing of a student in their classroom.

Our public schools need to be safe places for ALL students, and not just the students who belong to one racial, ethnic, or religious group at the expense of all others. Religious extremists are certainly free in this country to form their own private schools. Our state government has given them plenty of tax credits and financial incentives to do so, at the expense of our public schools already. They are even free to send a letter of their own to their child's teachers, staff, and administrators regarding which materials or curriculum from which they would like their child excluded. However, they do not have the right to obstruct other students' right to learn in a safe and diverse environment with adequate social supports.

I DO NOT CONSENT to have my public tax dollars used in any way to further the goals of a small, bigoted group of religious extremists to enforce their agenda on public institutions and put members of other religious, ethnic, racial, gender, disability, or any other demographic group in harm's way.