The Hoosier Youth (…or… “cultural competency” and “kum ba ya?”)

18. February 2008 by Seth.

Excitement from the potential impact of Indiana Senate bill 146 had barely begun to settle when a new bill started to fan the flames of debate across the Hoosier State.

IN House bill 1107, authored by Rep. Greg Porter and sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Teresa Lubbers would require “public and private accredited Christian schools and all licensed teachers in any setting including non-accredited private and home school settings to take pro-homosexual diversity training each year and to ‘measure’ their students’ ‘cultural competency’ on issues of diversity, culture and ideologies.” (American Family Association of Indiana: afain.net)

The range of debate prompted by such a piece of legislation is sweeping.

For example, who is to determine the view of homosexuality to be spoon-fed into the minds of Hoosier youth?

Also, how might this actually affect the homeschool community?  While the bill calls for even non-accredited private schools to follow the proposed “diversity training,” it appears this would only apply to licensed teachers.  Teacher certification is not required to educate ones children at home in Indiana.

Further, what is “cultural competency?”  Is it knowledge of contemporary American culture and its various fragmentations with an understanding (not acceptance) of social groups?  Or, is it false tolerance, by which one is forced to actually suppress ones own culture/ideologies and adopt those of another which are anathema to ones moral compass? 

Such an act would be tantamount to believers of orthodox Christianity holding hands with Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons to sing “Kum Ba Ya.”  While we may all be pleading to some deity to “come by here,” only one is directing this call to the Triune God of Scripture, and therefore to sing such a song together would be to ignore the simple fact that each group strongly opposes the fundamental views of the other.

We can—and will—cooexist.  But, we must not suppress the Truth.

The American Family Association (AFA) of Indiana last week dispersed an alert following this bill’s passage through the House, prompting Hoosiers to begin contacting their senators.  The same day, Sen. Lubbers, sponsor of the bill, called AFA to discuss possible amendments.  According to Micah Clark, AFA of Indiana Executive Director, Sen. Lubbers is interested in addressing concerns from pro-family groups and even amending the bill to reflect this.

Could this be a sign of the Indiana Senate itself growing in “cultural competency” of Hoosiers strongly opposed to forced false tolerance?  Time will tell.

Updates are expected this week on HB 1107.  Stay tuned.

Sites to watch for news (along with the Underground blog, of course):

http://www.in.gov/legislative/

http://www.afain.net/

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