I first saw it on my Facebook feed. I belong to one of those somewhat politically active teacher groups that’s ultimately a place where teachers can safely complain. It’s the end of the year, so there will be a lot of complaints. This year feels kind of different and it was hard to put my finger on it, but I think I noticed it when this story popped up.

I really didn’t take notice until I saw it on a different news source. It’s not that the teachers on social media lie. However, they are subject to hyperbole every now and then. However, more than one source has verified it, so I get to bring it to you.

For those that don’t want to go down the rabbit hole, essentially the bill proposes outlawing the teaching of anything deemed anti-religion and allows for parents to be able to pull books from the bookshelves that they deem to be offensive. The kicker was the following,

“Teachers could be sued a minimum of $10,000 “per incident, per individual” and the fines would be paid “from personal resources” not from school funds or from individuals or groups. If the teacher is unable to pay, they will be fired, under the legislation.”

People at school seem to think I know how to write for some reason, so I primarily support English classes. We hold meetings once a week to make sure everyone is on the same page. Social studies classes are even worse. They teach via Power Point and all of them are on the same Power Point.

Earlier in the year we had to take a workshop on the “teaching of controversial topics.” Essentially, we don’t. It isn’t so much that we teach the Bible so much as not teaching anything at all. Far be it for us to actually hit a topic that would force students to think critically about anything at all. Fortunately, we aren’t getting sued in Texas quite yet, but I’m sure Greg Abbott, Dan Patrick, and the rest of the dream team will copy Oklahoma before too long.

I’ve been in education for 24 years now. With the way teacher retirement works, I am almost vested and simply am too far in to really do anything else. Many of my colleagues are not and are choosing to get out. This is different. Most of the time they simply have had enough of a certain campus or principal and want to go to a different campus. Sometimes a better opportunity just comes along. In this case, they are leaving education all together.

I promised myself a long time ago that I would never become one of those “back in my day” guys. Yet, here I am. When I started teaching history we had a rough timeline they wanted us to follow, but ultimately we had the autonomy to veer off the beaten path every now and then to hit a unit we cared deeply about. It’s what made teaching history fun. Everyone had their own time period they enjoyed teaching.

Seeing an entire hallway of history teachers on the same Power Point every day is just demoralizing. The only way I can make it through six or seven more years is to remind myself that it is about the students. Those relationships are crucial for their success and our sanity. We just have to watch what we say for now on.

Pat Robertson ended his run as the head of the 700 club after 55 long years. For those that don’t want to go through the pay wall you can also view the news here. I couldn’t imagine lasting 55 years doing anything and there are moments where I’m not sure if I will last 55 years period.

There are some religious scholars that classify heresy as the worst of the sins. Others would simply say that everyone is allowed to believe what they want. While that is true, there can be nothing worse than wrapping up your heresy and selling it as religious doctrine. So, those religious scholars are really talking about blasphemy. It’s hard to disrespect a God one does not believe exists. It’s only those that know and then choose to pervert it anyway that get into the real trouble.

It’s often been said that no one leaves Washington poorer than they came. The same could be said of televangelists. Some reports have Robertson privately worth between 200 million and a billion dollars. I’ll settle for 100 million. Of course, people will often argue as to whether the money was a byproduct of the hate being spewed or if it was the end game. It could just as easily be said that no one got poorer preaching hate.

I could go through a litany of things Robertson has said over the course of 50 plus years and I’ll attach a few here for those that want to go down the rabbit hole. That article obviously doesn’t exhaust them all. Volumes of books would be necessary to tackle his sordid legacy on this front.

Goodness knows that none of us will get it right 100 percent of the time. We are human. Goodness also knows that most of us will get nowhere near that kind of platform. It takes a certain kind of cowardice to know the truth and speak the opposite. It takes a scoundrel to pick the message that will get them the most money and not the message that will make people better than they were before. Robertson is obviously both.

Robertson reduced faith and Christian belief down to a math equation. If you get only ten percent of the population on your side you are still talking about 35 million Americans. If each gives just ten dollars to the cause you are now worth 350 million dollars. Obviously, they have more than ten percent to bank on and their followers certainly donated more than ten dollars a piece to the cause over the years.

And what exactly is that cause? Like Jerry Falwell and others, he somehow married Christianity to the Republican party. He simultaneously managed to soil both at the same time. A small government and low taxes party has somehow melded into one focused on petty slights, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, and racism. Sadly, we’ve watched countless friends become radicalized one by one over the intervening decades.

The pews are also more sparse these days. Sure, a lot of it is pandemic oriented, but even that is a loaded statement. It’s hard to square a benevolent God, peace loving Christ, and what we see people of faith do and say on a regular basis. So, millions still believe but don’t participate. Others simply don’t believe anymore. This kind of erosion took decades to manifest itself and those are decades we can never get back. Robertson is at the life stage where he can exist on the fruits of his labor. He doesn’t have to worry about lack of faith or lack of attendance.

Like Limbaugh and others, Robertson has definitely left his mark. I guess that’s something by itself. Most of us could never dream of having such an impact on people. Most of us are glad about that. When my work here is done I can only hope that people think I made a positive difference. I’m sure Robertson tells himself that. It’s the last lie told by a blasphemer and opportunist.