From: gjm11@cus.cam.ac.uk (G.J. McCaughan)
Subject: Re: Freedon of speech.
Organization: U of Cambridge, England
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 17:14:35 GMT

In article <CHRISTIA%92111020403743@ASUACAD.BITNET> "Michael A. Kline" <MKLINE@VDH.BITNET> writes:

>I was very poorly reflecting back to when all schools were Christian.
>They have in essence made all schools atheist. Right now I'm listening
>to 700 club that as 3rd graders the children are required to stand in
>the front of the class and recite all the sex parts of the body using
>street slang. A 3rd grade girl was force to repeat the male sex organ
>10 times out loud because she didn't say it right the first time.
>   10th graders are given a home work assignment to actually masturbate
>Both these incidents were in Mass. I may well post the story.

This is pretty awful, if true. However, people have been known to spread
such stories without adequate evidence; I'm not suggesting that you would,
but I'm not so sure about 700 Club. What sort of school was this?

>>I don't understand. Are you saying that the parents of today have been
>>educated in schools that have somehow forced them to believe that there
>>is no God and that abortion is a good thing? I find it very hard to believe
>>that many teachers would ever tell a child "Your mother should not have been
>>forced to have you"; I can't think of many circumstances under which this
>>would be remotely relevant.
>
>Oddly enough, the creator of RU486 said almost the exact same thing. RU486
>is being pushed onto America so that "when it's a success there" they can
>push it onto the 3rd world countries, because he believe the whole world
>has to drop about 1/3 of the population. They are actually starting to call
>it "pop-ulution". We are parasites and need to be eliminated to save the
>world. Granted these people are on the fringe, but woe if they get into
>power. I was wondering what "message" Clinton will give if he does reverse
>20 years of Pro-Life work in a flash of a pen.

There is a difference between suggesting that the world would be a better
place if its population was a bit smaller (probably true, though I wouldn't
advocate widespread distribution of RU-486 as a way to achieve this, of
course) and saying that "we are parasites and need to be eliminated to save
the world". Actually, to a worrying degree we *do* behave like parasites
sometimes, but of course the answer is to stop being parasites, not to
eliminate our species...

Are you suggesting that Clinton is one of these people on the fringe? If not,
why are you trying to associate him with them? Incidentally, what is it known
that Clinton has said about abortion, RU-486 and such? (I simply don't know;
this is a request for information.)

>I've scanned my paragraphs, and I'm still not sure I've done a good job,
>but I'll close now. It is one of those "Better to have the world think
>you're a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." I hope there
>are still some doubts. :-)

Plenty. :-)

>Oh, I got too frisky on the "one flew over the cuckoo's nest". A "Tale of
>Two Cities", and Shakespeare were considered to be of value, classics. While
>I watched the movie, I can't say the story is a classic, not by a long shot.
>I think the original point they were trying to make, and perhaps not that
>well was it is fine to require out children to be exposed to gang rape and
>the like, but against the law for them to see anything like the Bible.

Perhaps so; in which case, I more or less agree that this is a bit off. But
you ought to think more carefully about people's arguments before posting
them -- the idea that any book which contains anything you find distasteful
must be bad is a very dangerous one indeed.

>There were points missing. How old was this requirement? Were any other
>books required? Not given that, only a certain amount of judgement can
>really take place. sorry. Did make for rather interesting conversation
>though.

Indeed so!

I hope nothing I've said has given offence, by the way.

-- 
Gareth McCaughan     Dept. of Pure Mathematics & Mathematical Statistics,
gjm11@cus.cam.ac.uk  Cambridge University, England.    [Research student]
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