Conflation

Vanity was a problem for the emperor.
All he wanted to do was display his fine clothes.
He hired two tailors who promised to make him the finest garments.
Clothes made out of a fabric that was invisible.
Invisible to anyone who is unfit for his position or hopelessly stupid.

The two tailors were dishonest.
They pretended to make the new clothes, and pretended to dress the emperor in them.
The emperor couldn’t wait to parade in front of the people wearing his new clothes.
This caused a dilemma for the people.

The clothes were not there…but how could the people tell the emperor?
If they told him, they would be considered unfit for their position and hopelessly stupid.
The people pretended to like the emperor’s new clothes.
Shouts and applause prevailed.
Until one little child pointed his finger and exclaimed, He is not wearing anything at all!

Winston Smith was a member of the Outer Party, and worked for the Ministry of Truth.
The Inner Party was in control of Oceania.
Any individualism or independent thinking was deemed a thoughtcrime.
The Ministry of Truth worked diligently to revise Oceania’s history.
This revision was necessary so that recorded history supported the Party’s agenda.

Oceania even had its own language called Newspeak.
Newspeak limited freedom and self-expression by removing any words or concepts that would pose a threat to the Party.
The language of Newspeak was constantly changing.
Eventually, all remnants of Oldspeak would soon disappear.
Big Brother, the leader of the Party, monitored the public and private lives of the people.
Their lives and their thoughts were watched from the ever present telescreen.

Conflation…combining two or more ideas into one.
The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson and 1984 by George Orwell are two stories that can be conflated in light of our current culture.

The tailors are doing a good job of convincing us that we would be unfit for our positions or hopelessly stupid should we say anything negative about the fine suit of clothes they are in the process of making.

We sit quietly while generations are being killed on the altar of expediency and greed.
We turn our heads as family is being redefined and marriage is being trampled underfoot.
We allow our children to be raised by anyone else but us, while we are off…pursuing.
We have rejected God and turned to government as our Savior.

Shouts and applause prevail.
Acceptance and complacent resignation our default.
We see that the emperor is not wearing any clothes.
We don’t have the courage to say so!

Oh, for the bravery of the innocent child…who dares to point his finger.
He is not wearing anything at all!

We are not much different than Oceania.
We are revising our history…removing any vestiges of God’s providence.
We have taken our surgical scalpel and cut out words and terms, people and events, that demonstrate national pride.
We can’t have that when we are competing in a global economy!

We communicate with our own version of Newspeak.
Our language is tolerant and all-inclusive.
Our language is government-heavy and God-light!

We sit on the sidelines while anonymous people, with large pocketbooks, re-write curriculum standards for our children’s education.
They consider themselves to be part of a Ministry of Truth…protecting the greater good.

Orwellian…Utilitarian…Shackled.

The clothes are invisible and we MUST have the courage to say so!

When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say. (Luke 12:11,12)

God’s Providential Hand is over us.
We have pushed away His Hand and shoved Him to the back of the bus.
That dusty Bible…it’s not applicable today!
Believe in the Sovereignty of God…?
We are far more enlightened than that!

Are we?
Our babies are having babies.
Our children are shooting each other in school.
Our families are crumbling around us.
Marriage is passe.
Purity is old-fashioned.
My needs…my wants…my greater good.

The Lord will establish you as His holy people, as He promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity – in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground – in the land He swore to your forefathers to give you. The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouses of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them. (Deuteronomy 28:9-14)

Where do we go from here?
Do we have the courage to stand as the Church of Christ and say ENOUGH?
Can we find our collective voice?
Who are we going to tell?
The emperor is not wearing any clothes!

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Additional information for the above mentioned curriculum standard revision can be found at: http://truthinamericaneducation.com/common-core-state-standards/