America loves to declare war. We used to declare war on other nations (the
last formal declaration of war was by FDR on December 8th, 1941). Now, we just declare war on social issues. Lyndon
B. Johnson gave us the War on Poverty in 1964.
In the 70’s it was the War on Drugs. In 1980, Ronald Reagan challenged incumbent Jimmy
Carter in what was a traditionalist vs progressivist political campaign and
thus began what is commonly referred to as the Culture Wars of the 80s & 90’s. The Culture Wars were temporarily put on hold as
a renewed wave of patriotism overtook Americans as President Bush declared a
War on Terror immediately after the cowardly acts by terrorists on what is now
simply known as 9/11. However, that wave of patriotism was quickly
replaced by cultural war rhetoric during the presidential campaign of 2004.
Culture Wars are fought by politicians for political gain. The purpose of any cultural war is to draw
attention to the issue to win campaigns --not to solve problems. These culture wars are fought over things
like minimum wage, social security, health care, abortion, and education. Battle lines are dictated by ideology and not
by personal experiences. Ideology is established at the national level by looking
at the size of campaign donations or the impact on voter motivation, but it is
sculpted and applied at the state level where ideological outcomes affect
everyday citizens. Making matters worse is the current concept where your
ideology is judged for purity of conviction and not whether it is applied for
the benefit of society. The war on
poverty is a prime example of how ideological purity means more to some than
the benefit to others.
If you have been paying attention to any of the Oklahoma
education policy lately, you might have noticed another type of War on Poverty.
This is a silent war, but one happening
just the same. This war is not a war
against poverty, but a war against poverty. Yes, you read that correctly. Let me explain it another way. Oklahoma, along with other states with extreme
far right leaning governments, has long engaged (and now joined by the Trump
administration) in a war not to end poverty, but a war against the impoverished. There has been no formal declaration, just a
constant landslide of economic and education policies aimed at hurting children
who qualify for government assistance.
Need proof? Oklahoma has had 6 straight years of
reducing state investment in common education -one stat where Oklahoma leads the nation. Higher education has been cut 23% in the last
2 years. When I went to college state
support for higher education was 40% and today it stands at 15%. Think of it this way; our parents and
grandparents paid taxes to help send the majority of us to college and we pay
it forward by cutting our own taxes so our kids have to foot their own tuition
bill? Lawmakers have tried for years to siphon money away from public schools for
private school tuition. Trump's first proposed education budget slashes 21st
century grants and other after school programs, along with federal support for
special education and Title 1. Who needs the most support in
education? Kids from impoverished homes.
Which programs are being targeted for cuts? Programs helping students in
poverty.
This is much more than just paying less in taxes and more
for services. Some services are
priceless. Don’t you think any of the mothers
of teenage kids who are addicted to drugs or bullied into suicide wouldn’t gladly
pay more in taxes for social workers or mental health professionals? How about less crowded emergency rooms or
better staffed veteran centers? How
about school counselors who are trained to help students with everyday
decisions like identifying a career or dealing with a problem? Counselors play vital
roles within a school and are more than the “administration overhead” argued by
those in the culture wars. Character education, bullying prevention, testing,
scholarships, graduation, career planning, are just some of what they do for
our children. Not to mention just being
a good listener and building psychologist for students, teachers, and parents
who need help. And it is not just
counselors……kids in poverty need before and after school programs to help them and their parents who work non-school
friendly jobs. Kids need teachers who
pour themselves into their work and won’t let poverty be the issue preventing success. Kids need library books, textbooks,
computers, internet, custodians, bus drivers, crossing guards, reading
specialists, and classroom teachers who know them as people and not just
another body crammed into an overcrowded classroom. Don’t let the ideologues draw your
attention away from the solution by claiming educators just want to “throw more
money” at the problem. Textbooks are more than money. After school programs are
preferential over being sent home to an empty house. Teachers are much, much more than the salary that shows up on a financial
statement-they are people who are trained to fight the war on
poverty. The war trying to overcome poverty, not the war declaring it government waste.
