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Reagan, Education, Propaganda, and the U.S. Postal Service

By Theresa Fritz Camoriano

Reagan – With the passing of President Reagan, it is time to be reminded that we owe him a great debt of gratitude for what he did for the United States and the world.  Reagan took us from an economy with high unemployment and high inflation to one of low inflation and high productivity, and he took us from being afraid of annihilation by the Soviet Union to the disappearance of Soviet communism – not bad for a dumb actor!  The truth is that, despite being portrayed by the press as a bumblehead, Reagan was extremely intelligent, knowledgeable about the world and economics, and was courageous enough to do what he knew was right.  I cannot think of another politician who would have walked away from the arms talks in Iceland with Gorbachev, having been offered a huge reduction in nuclear arms, as Reagan did.   He walked away from public acclaim and ego stroking to apply more pressure to the Soviet Union.  That courageous step was probably the most important single action that resulted in bringing down the communist government in the Soviet Union. 

          Reagan had tremendous respect for all people and believed they could be very productive if freed from the heavy burdens of government taxation and regulation.  Reagan was not anti-government; he was against excessive government.  It is sad to see people trying to rewrite history today by portraying Reagan as being prejudiced against various groups of people, when that simply is not true.  In last week’s issue of Jefferson Review, we used several quotes from Reagan to share his thoughts with our readers.  In his memory and honor, we are running those same quotes again this week. Those quotes drew the ire of a letter writer, whose letter is published in this issue.  Also in this issue in our “recent articles” section is a link to an interview Reagan gave to Reason magazine in 1975, which lays out his political philosophy.  When I started attending Notre Dame back in 1972, one of the first things we freshmen did was go to the Knights of Columbus building and watch the Knute Rockne Story, starring Ronald Reagan.  I never dreamed at that time that a Hollywood actor could make such a positive difference in the world.  So here’s to President Reagan – and many thanks!

Education in KY – The Jackson school district in Kentucky is doing a better job of educating students than the neighboring county, so parents are sending their children to Jackson.  Unfortunately, the state has decided not to allow the state education tax money to follow those students to the Jackson school district, so the money that was extracted from taxpayers for educating children is not being used to educate these students.  The state board of education obviously is more interested in protecting institutions and bureaucrats than in educating children.  Can’t Governor Fletcher do something to remedy that problem and give more kids a fighting chance?

Education and the Baptists – A proposal to the Southern Baptist Convention urging members to remove their children from the godless government schools highlights the fact that all education is religious education.  It is not possible to teach without teaching a worldview.  For example, do we teach that we should be tolerant of people who disagree with us or that we have the moral obligation to kill them?  Do we teach the use of scientific method to find truth or that we should ignore what we see and rely on faith alone?  Do we teach that what we do makes a difference or that our efforts are futile because everything is preordained?  Do we teach that humans should use the earth’s resources wisely for their own benefit or that humans are a blight on the planet?  There is no “neutral” way to educate, and it is impossible to educate without offending some religious or anti-religious group of people.  If we really believe in separation of church and state, we must believe in separation of school and state.  So here’s to the Baptists!  I wish them all the best in their efforts to remove their children from the government schools.  Their children and our country will be better off if they do.

Propaganda – Every time we buy a gallon of gasoline, we pay a federal gasoline tax, which is supposed to be used to build and maintain highways.  It is a type of “user fee”, in which those who use the highways pay for them.  That seems fair enough, but it is not fair when that tax money takes a detour to be used for propaganda purposes instead of highway purposes.  I have recently been hearing a radio ad in which federal gasoline taxes are being used to encourage us to lobby for the construction of mixed use communities, more bike paths, and more walking.  Thanks, but I don’t need to pay for big brother to nag me or to take away my property rights.  In fact, if big brother would get off my back and charge me less in taxes, I could work less and would have more time for walking and biking. 

How about a law requiring gasoline pumps to display the amount we are being charged in federal and state taxes (a user fee notice) and a law requiring the gasoline tax money to be used only for building and maintaining roads and highways (restricting it to the purpose for which the users pay the fees)? 

The U.S. Postal Service – As you may know, the U.S. Postal Service has a monopoly on delivering the mail.  If anyone else tries to compete, they will be prosecuted and punished.  So just how well does the protected postal monopoly work?  I’ll give you a recent example from my business.  We mailed a postcard on Nov. 12, 2003 to a Kentucky P.O. Box, and it was returned to us May 26, 2004.  Where has that postcard been for the past six months?  I would love to know!  Given such examples of the effectiveness of government monopolies, why do so many people think they are the answer for educating children, providing health care, and taking care of other important aspects of our lives?  I guess it’s part of that worldview that says we should take things on faith rather than using scientific method and looking at the facts.

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