HELL NO - No to School Budget Cuts

Religious leadership must speak out against cutting School funding. Indeed 12 Religious leaders have spoken at the Texas Faith Panel in the Dallas Morning News - http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/04/texas-faith-should-religious-o.html

The following is my take.

Religion is one of the key strands in the overall life arrangement and it is not a stand alone independent item; everything is a part of the web of life. The Hindu teaching sums it up with a phrase Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam; the whole world is one family and if one strand is affected it messes up the wholeness of the system.

We are (were) the most advanced nation in the world in terms of education, innovation and bringing the civilization forward, the cuts to school funding is simply not acceptable, we are regressing and will be sliding downwards if we do not take the steps now. We need to balance the budget but not at the cost of education, the very foundation of our success story. 

The religious communities are indeed involved in the process of education when it affects them directly, a very selfish irreligious value.  The California Text books were insensitive towards Hindu culture and the battle continues without much support from others. The right wingers want to push their agenda into Texas text books, if they see the sorry state of affairs they are causing, they may alter their views, someone had aptly said that he would not hire an engineer coming out of the proposed education system where the Pi is defined as an integer and not a fraction, he said his missile will not hit the target and the rockets will land on the moon.  The relentless efforts of the Jewish community to keep us from dumping a singular version of God on all Children is a major contribution in building a cohesive society, a basis for our prosperity.

Religions teach us to stand up for others, and we need to quit being selfish and join

hands with others to act in the interests of common good. It's an insurance to preserve every one's future. As Americans Together we need to urge our representatives to itch for restoring our firm foundation in education.

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), "our 15-year-olds rank 17th in the world in science and 25th in math. We rank 12th among developed countries in college graduation (down from No. 1 for decades). We come in 79th in elementary-school enrollment. Our infrastructure is ranked 23rd in the world, well behind that of every other major advanced economy. "

Our representatives are not going to die out of hunger if they take pay cuts over a period of two or three years. They need to prove to us that they care about our future and are willing to take the first step in being a public servant. In Texas alone, we can afford to eliminate 75 state representatives, 15 State senators and 16 US Congressman and offer a pay cut for rest. 

The Talibans keep the children out of schools with a barrel, and our representatives want to do the same to our Children with funds? Hell no, we can afford to cut them rascals but not cut a dime to our schools.

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Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions to media and the public on issues of the day and is available to speak at your place of worship, school, work, seminars and conferences. He is a speaker thinker and a writer on the topics of pluralism, cohesive societies, Islam, interfaith, India and peace.

The Foundation for Pluralism champions the idea of co-existence by respecting and accepting the otherness of other and World Muslim Congress is committed to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam. His work is reflected in 4 websites and 27 Blogs at http://www.mikeghouse.net/