Acton Institute PowerBlog - Entries from Tuesday, October 25, 2005

British Ingenuity

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Perhaps Uncle Sam...

Interesting news from across the pond today. Our British friends seem to be making education a bit more ‘user friendly’. Education Secretary Ruth Kelly is proposing a system where “parents dissatisfied with local schools will be encouraged to set up their own...’The underlying principle is simple - freedom for schools and power for parents,’ said the education secretary.”

The Acton Institute has long promoted the idea that the primary responsibility for a child’s education lies with the parents. The recent proposal in England is an example of someone at least acknowledging that parents ought to be allowed the freedom and responsibility to make educational decisions for their own children.

...could take a lesson from John Bull.

Groups of parents concerned about underachieving schools can either ask the local authority to intervene - or else set out plans for the creation of their own school. If local authorities reject parents’ proposals, the parents can appeal for adjudication - which Ms Kelly says could lead to the government forcing local authorities to fund such new school projects.

The point is this: generally, when people are given opportunity (freedom), they can succeed more than when a government dictates to them how they will ‘succeed’. I would think this applies especially to education, where bureaucratic mandates can take a family only so far.

Posted by David Michael Phelps in Educational Choice at 13:31 | Leave a comment | Trackback

Ideas Have Consequences

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

An illuminating passage from an interview with Peter Schweizer on National Review Online. Schweizer is the author of Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy:

...the consequences of liberal hypocrisy are different than for the conservative variety. When conservatives abandon their principles and become hypocrites, they end up hurting themselves and their families. Conservative principles are like guard rails on a winding road. They are irritating but fundamentally good for you. Liberal hypocrisy is the opposite. When the liberal-left abandon their principles and become hypocrites, they actually improve their lives. Their kids end up in better schools, they have more money, and their families are more content. [Their] ideas are truly that bad.

Posted by Marc Vander Maas in General at 12:59 | Leave a comment | Trackback

iBelieve in iPod

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Apparently, the religion of iPod is the fastest growing religion in the world. And now, you can even buy the “divine iBelieve” cap for your iPod shuffle, to let others know of your commitments to your religion and music.

But now bring me a man who plays music. And when the man played music the groove came upon them.
~ 2 Jobs 3:15

Who comes up with this stuff, I don’t know. I can just see it now, though - walking into the weight room at [insert name of some Christian college here] and noticing that every other person in the place is wearing an iPod shuffle cross...

Posted by Jonathan Spalink in General at 12:10 | Leave a comment | Trackback (1)

SHAFTA?

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Last night, at Acton’s 15 Year Dinner in Grand Rapids, former president of El Salvador Francisco Flores gave a reason for his county’s great economic success: it stopped blaming others. Compare this with another statement yesterday by another politician, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm. In a bid to the federal government to help the ailing Michigan manufacturing industry, she said (among other things) that “a crisis is upon us and the Federal Government needs to step up and do its share” presumably because “NAFTA and CAFTA have given Michigan the shafta.”

Now, I may be a sucker for semi-witty wordplay, but the reason I bring this up is simply to point out the following: one politician, whose state was once in a financial ruin Michiganders cannot imagine, pulled his country to increased prosperity with a “don’t blame others; take responsibility for yourself” mentality (to read another speech he gave along these lines, click here); another politician, whose state is on the economic slide, blames the policies of the federal government for it and then demands that the same federal government fix the problem. The irony that these two politicians made these two statements on the same day in Michigan evokes in me--well, lafta.

Posted by David Michael Phelps in International Trade at 08:54 | Comments (4) | Trackback (1)

The Priority of the Eternal over the Temporal

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
—James 1:9–11 (NIV)

Continue reading "The Priority of the Eternal over the Temporal"

Posted by Jordan J. Ballor in Bible and Theology at 07:43 | Leave a comment | Trackback