It’s becoming common. The newspaper prints an opinion piece, sometimes labeled “policy analysis”, on the front page. Often enough it’s about an “issue” we’re to be concerned about. Often enough too the issue is really an issue to only a very small group, say editorial-page editors breaking out from their usual haunts.
The Bangor Daily News tries that gambit today, in this piece: Will Maine Schools Ever Teach Gay Marriage?
You have probably seen the television advertisement by now. It warns that if Maine’s recently passed law that allows same-sex marriage is upheld by voters in November, schools could be mandated to teach students about it, according to Stand for Marriage Maine, the group that paid for the ad titled, “Everything to Do With Schools.”
Numerous educators interviewed this week, however, agreed that there is nothing in state guidelines or local curricula that addresses teaching about marriage, let alone same-sex marriage, and the outcome of Question 1 would not change that.
The public yawns; as of now (12 hours after the paper arrived roadside) just six people have risen to this troll.
Here’s a few working hypotheses:
- People know campaigns exaggerate and lie. They’re jaded about these ads, and hardly look to them for accuracy.
- Most folks have already made up their minds about this question, and don’t depend on a TV ad to decide how to vote.
- Most folks know that teachers express their own opinions on social and political matters in the classroom and students have to just sit there and take it. It’s the way power is distributed in the schools.
There are no surprises here. Note to editors: you’ll have to find another way to sell that old dead-tree rag!
Actually, I haven’t seen the ads; I don’t watch television. Why? Because I’m fully aware of how degraded hunmankind can be without having to reminded of it constantly!