CAL THOMAS COMMENTARY SEPTEMBER 12, 2O23
THE WORD “HYPOCRISY” USED TO SHAME A PERSON INTO REPENTANCE AND APOLOGY. NO MORE.
HERE’S AN EXAMPLE. THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION, STACY DAVIS GATES, HAS CALLED SCHOOL CHOICE “RACIST” AND MADE IT HER GOAL TO END THE ILLINOIS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS.
BUT SHE HAS ENROLLED HER SON, NOT IN A FAILING NEIGHBORHOOD PUBLIC SCHOOL, BUT IN A PRIVATE CATHOLIC SCHOOL THAT COSTS $16 THOUSAND A YEAR. WHAT ABOUT POOR KIDS AND THEIR PARENTS WHO CAN’T AFFORD TO DO AS SHE HAS? TOO BAD FOR THEM. ILLINOIS’S “INVEST IN KIDS PROGRAM” PAID FOR 9,000 SCHOLARSHIPS LAST YEAR, BUT HAD 31 THOUSAND APPLICATIONS, WHICH OUGHT TO TELL US SOMETHING. THE PROGRAM WILL SOON END UNLESS IT IS RENEWED BY THE LEGISLATURE AND DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR.
DAVIS SAYS SHE WENT PRIVATE FOR HER SON SO HE COULD “LIVE OUT HIS DREAM OF BEING A SOCCER PLAYER WHILE ALSO HAVING A CURRICULUM THAT CAN MEET HIS SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS.”
THAT WOULD SEEM A WORTHY GOAL FOR ANY PARENT, YET DAVIS DOESN’T WANT EDUCATION CHOICE FOR OTHER KIDS, ONLY HER OWN. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BETTER DEFINITION OF HYPOCRISY. I’M CAL THOMAS.
You are correct in calling out that case of hypocrisy. I have read of more than one such educator who sends their own children to private schools. Another example of hypocrisy comes from those who claim the name of our blessed Savior Jesus Christ, who made a big fuss in the 1990s that character mattered but argue now with equal fervor that character matters not at all. Such hypocrisy is damaging our witness to the world. We need to remember the passage that judgment begins with the house of God. Thankfully you have called out such hypocrisy on occasion, but it would be helpful to do so with more fervor and consistency.