The term “Orwellian” is overused in modern political discourse. That’s because the authoritarian regime of George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel is an easy comparison for whatever thing the speaker wants to argue against in the political debate du jour.
But sometimes the comparison is truly deserved—like when politicians seek to quell political discourse by torturing language itself to suit their ends and disparage their opponents.
For example, radical progressives use the term “decency” to cover up legally indecent and morally reprehensible materials in the hands of school-age children.
This is exactly what is currently going on in the Maryland General Assembly. A few weeks ago, the speaker of the House of Delegates, Adrienne Jones, D-Baltimore County, announced what she calls her “decency agenda.”
What could be wrong with that? After all, American politics could certainly use more decency.
And, to her credit, Jones’ team is pretty adept at selling her supposed “decency” angle.
“I am not asking for Marylanders to believe in what I believe in, or compromise their values. We know that we will never agree on everything, and we shouldn’t,” the speaker said in her announcement. “To me, decency is about respect. Respect for our community, co-workers, friends, and families.”
But if politicians had to name their bills and agenda to accurately describe what’s in them, then most of them would be out of a job in a heartbeat.
In reality, Jones’ “decency” agenda is merely clever marketing. Even a cursory look beneath the surface reveals what this whole thing is really about.
The “decency agenda” includes several “nondiscrimination” bills. One is the Freedom to Read Act, which would take away the ability of local libraries that receive state funds to regulate or restrict access to pornographic materials.
I’m not exaggerating. Anyone paying attention to debates about the content of public school libraries over the past several years—including all the allegations of “book banning”—is familiar with the caliber of smut that the radical progressives are trying to foist upon our kids.
In truth, this bill literally guarantees access to “indecent materials”—which is the term that the Maryland Code uses to describe this kind of stuff. And so we arrive at the proper definition of the word “Orwellian.”
Jones may as well have declared, “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
After all, if exposing school-age children to sexually explicit materials is now the “decent” thing to do in Maryland, then words have no meaning anymore.
Let’s be clear about this: There is nothing “decent” about sexualizing our young children. The seemingly nationwide obsession with doing so among some public school leaders is beyond disturbing.
Public schools should be focused on teaching reading, writing, math, and critical thinking so that our children can flourish in the real world. They should not be focused on indoctrinating kids with sexual materials and ideologies to suit the vested interests of those in Annapolis, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
This isn’t just about books in school libraries; that’s just another steppingstone along the way. The only things standing between where we are and where the radical progressives want to go are the tried-and-true institutions of civil society—family, religion, and common decency.
The progressives in Annapolis are doing their dead level best to tear down those institutions and destroy the foundations of our society.
But that’s exactly what this is all about; if the radical activists in our school systems left discussions of sexual ethics and values to families, then kids actually might disagree with them—and the progressives simply can’t allow that.
So what are people of faith and those with traditional values supposed to do to meet and confront this trend? We can’t confront deception with deception. We’re going to have to root ourselves in the truth and fight with everything we have for it.
These are attacks on our beliefs, our values, and our children. The radicals may despise what we believe, but we will not overcome this hostility with more hatred. Truly loving our neighbor means telling him the truth.
Above all, we must remain steadfast in our beliefs and courageously stand for true decency. Our children, our families, and our future depend on it.
The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation.
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