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tomgreencountydemocrats-blog · 7 years

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David Currie, Contributed opinion to Standard Times San Angelo, Published 8:45 a.m. CT Sept. 13, 2017 | Updated 12:41 p.m. CT Sept. 13, 2017

I wear quite a few hats in San Angelo, and I love this community. I am writing this article as the retired executive director of Texas Baptists Committed and a longtime board member of The Interfaith Alliance in Washington, D.C.

I am deeply dismayed that reputable organizations have invited David Barton to speak to our community, because there is nothing reputable about the message he will bring. His message – which he has been proclaiming for over 25 years – is what I have fought against my entire career as a minister committed to upholding the truths of the Bible and as an American committed to the principles embedded in the U.S. Constitution. I firmly believe that religious liberty, as defined by our Founding Fathers, is the greatest single freedom ever adopted by a government.

David Barton very effectively twists the truth and presents quotes out of context and strategically selected partial quotes. He presents partial, twisted truth as absolute truth. The end result is a message that is an absolute lie – biblically, historically and constitutionally.

Barton will tell you our Founding Fathers were conservative evangelical Christians. He will have you convinced that our Founding Fathers intended for America to officially be a Christian nation, with Christians holding all political offices. He will tell you the separation of church and state is a myth. All of this is bad Bible and bad history, and a total misrepresentation of the U.S. Constitution.

It is a lie biblically, because Jesus taught us to “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.” The Kingdom of God is about God’s reign in the hearts and minds of Christians. It is not about seeking earthly power and control. God calls us to love people, not control their lives or to use the power of government to force people to live according to our religious beliefs.

Yes, Christians are to influence government to “do justice and seek mercy,” but nowhere does scripture teach us to seek control of government or to tie the government to a particular religious faith. The uniqueness of America is absolute religious freedom for all people.

In writing the Constitution our Founding Fathers made it very clear that this country was to have a secular government that protects religious freedom for all believers and those who have no faith at all.

Let me remind you what the U.S. Constitution says about religion. The Constitution mentions religion only one time – in Article VI, paragraph 3, which states that:

"The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

That is a pretty straightforward statement by our Founding Fathers. They did not want religious faith, in any form or fashion, to be a requirement for serving in elected office. They did not form America as a Christian nation. Were they influenced by Christian values? I’m sure they were; after all, separating church from state IS a Christian value, based on Christ’s own teaching. But they formed a nation in which religious faith would be free, not forced.

Unfortunately, several of the states, in forming as colonies, were tied to particular denominations; for example, the Anglican Church that controlled Virginia imprisoned over 90 Baptist preachers and laypersons ("Why Baptists? A Study of Baptist Faith and Heritage," William R. Estep, 1997). Therefore, our Founding Fathers felt it necessary to further extend their application of religious liberty to the lives of all citizens. They did this by adding 16 words, straightforward and succinct, to the First Amendment to the Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Two clauses – one prohibiting the establishment of official religion and one ensuring that all are free to exercise their religious faith without fear of government interference.

If every government in the world were to adopt and follow these words as the law of the land, nearly all war would end, as most wars have resulted from the efforts of one religious group to impose their faith on others. And our Founding Fathers knew this. They had studied history and set out to ensure that religious wars would not tear this nation apart.

So they founded America as a secular nation, for which all Christians should thank God. As Thomas Jefferson said, "History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes."

Jefferson would later write his famous letter to the Danbury Baptist Association, in which he asserted that a wall of separation between church and state protects both the church and the state.

Living in a secular nation gave Christians the freedom to exercise our faith without government support or interference, as long as we did not try to establish Christianity as an official religion. Those who would call for such today are, at the very least, misguided. History, as well as present-day events, teach us this truth.

For a point-by-point critique of the claims Barton made in his video “America’s Godly Heritage” – the same message he continues to spread today – you can go to the website of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty at http://bjconline.org/a-critique-of-david-bartons-views-on-church-and-state.

What David Barton will probably not tell you is that his latest book, "The Jefferson Lies," was pulled from bookstores by its publisher, Thomas Nelson, because “there were historical details – matters of fact, not matters of opinion, that were not supported at all.” I’m sure he will have copies available for you to buy if you enjoy fiction writing.

David Barton’s message is against everything for which this country stands, as well as what Christ taught in the Scriptures. I urge you to not be fooled by his nonsense that hurts our churches and our country.

David R. Currie has a Ph.D. in Christian Ethics. He is the retired executive director of Texas Baptists Committed and a board member of The Interfaith Alliance in Washington, DC. He is also a former board member of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty in Washington, DC.

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tomgreencountydemocrats-blog · 7 years

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David Currie, Tom Green County Democratic Chair Standard-Times Published 9:09 a.m. CT July 20, 2017

Gov. Greg Abbott recently tweeted that he “had signed 4 property tax reform bills into law. But we must do more to reduce property taxes in Texas.” Then he called a special session of the Texas Legislature.

The problem with the governor’s tweet is that the state of Texas does not get ONE SINGLE DIME from the property taxes we pay. All property taxes go to support local government, city, county and schools (and, in some counties, hospitals and water districts). When he says he has signed four property tax reform bills, what he is actually saying is he has signed four bills to make it harder for County Judge Steve Floyd and our county commissioners to meet the needs of our county, and he has signed four bills to make it much harder for our local superintendents and school boards to educate our children. Now he wants to sign more, hurting us more financially.

What he has signed are bills at the statewide level to cap the money our local governments receive to take care of the needs we have in our city, county and schools. Now he and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick are trying to do more harm to our county government with SB 2, which would force a vote if any county seeks to raise local taxes more than 5 percent in one year (which is, by the way, opposed by our county judge). Now this happens seldom but may sometimes be a necessity because of urgent needs.

This bill is supported by our state senator, Charles Perry, which prompted Republican Hale County Judge Bill Coleman to say, “I’m not sure, at this present time, who Charles Perry represents, but I’m certain it’s not the interests of this county.” Coleman added, “should I assume this bill is the Texas Senate’s open war on us (counties)?”

Stonewall County Judge Ronnie Moorhead, a Democrat, put it more bluntly, saying that the “state needs to take responsibility for property taxes through school finance instead of blaming us.”

The state pays 37 percent of a student’s costs now, whereas it used to pay 50 percent. For our property taxes to go down, all the state has to do is pay its fair share of educational expenses and not push more obligations down on our counties without paying for them. Note that the Texas House did vote to add $1.5 billion to school funding, but Patrick and Perry killed it in the Senate because the House wouldn’t approve vouchers, which destroy public education over time. Now this will all be argued again in the special session in July.

Instead of adequately funding education, they give tax breaks to folks who do not need it, as with the franchise tax cut a few years back. I am a pretty successful small business owner, and I have paid about $20,000 in franchise taxes in 18 years. It doesn’t affect me much, but it helped the big corporations and then left less money for education and roads, and thus our property taxes went up.

Our tea party Republican state leaders, for whom most of you voted, are the cause of our high property taxes — not our local city, county and school leaders. Think about that next year when Abbott, Patrick, Miller, Bush and Paxton run for re-election. They are in office because you voted for them and against far superior candidates. You can do something about it in 2018 if you want to.

David R. Currie, Ph.D., is chair of the Tom Green County Democratic Party, owner of Cornerstone Builders, as well as a retired Baptist minister and a Sunday School teacher.

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tomgreencountydemocrats-blog · 7 years

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David R. Currie, Special to the Standard-Times, Published 6:14 p.m. CT April 30, 2017.

Recently the Texas House of Representatives passed a school finance bill that adds $1.8 billion to help public schools; our own state representative, Drew Darby, offered an amendment that passed to help make school finance fairer to small neighborhood schools. I am very proud of Darby, as well as House Speaker Joe Straus, both of whom are Republicans.

Why am I proud? Because both men are more interested in getting things done to help people — the common good — than they are in scoring partisan political points. That is the way it should be.

However, my tea party friends and my Christian right friends consider Darby and Straus to be RINOs, that is, Republicans in Name Only, because they are willing to work with everyone — even Democrats.

By contrast, the tea party and Christian right are more than satisfied with the Republicans in the Texas Senate, which is led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is 100 percent tea party and a former Christian right radio personality. The Senate passed a budget, supported by our state senator, Charles Perry, a tea party member, that “cuts state funding for public schools by $1.8 billion in general revenue, and uses local property tax revenue to make up the difference,” an article in the Texas Tribune said.

Now which approach do you agree with — the Texas House’s or the Texas Senate’s?

This is a critical question that all of us — but particularly my Republican friends — must answer. Traditionally, Tom Green County Republicans have agreed with Darby’s approach. In the 2014 primary, they voted for David Dewhurst, not Dan Patrick. However, after Patrick won the primary, they voted for him in the general election simply because he is Republican.

In 2012, they likewise voted for Dewhurst over Ted Cruz in the GOP primary for U.S. senator, then turned around and voted for Cruz — who is, politically, Patrick’s twin brother — in the general election. My Republican friends, please stop doing this. The Democratic candidate was far superior to Patrick, and far closer to Dewhurst politically than Patrick is.

The fact is that 70 percent of you reading this agree with me, the chairman of the Tom Green County Democratic Party, more than you agree with Dan Patrick or Ted Cruz. I have more in common with George W. Bush than Ted Cruz does.

The fact is that there are good Republicans and very bad Republicans, and you need to learn the difference. Now some of you will say that is also true of Democrats, and I’d be happy to discuss that with you. However, what has happened in Texas is that the tea party and Christian right have taken control of the Republican primaries; therefore, all of our statewide elected officials — governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, agriculture commissioner, and even the land commissioner, George P. Bush — support giving your taxpayer money to private schools through vouchers and taking it away from our neighborhood public schools.

They are extremists, and our state is suffering for it. Our children and grandchildren are suffering for it. If you study the candidates’ positions, you’ll find that the Democrat is more often closer to your convictions than his/her extreme right-wing Republican opponent. So please start paying attention.

Locally, we have worked together pretty well. City races are nonpartisan, but the fact is that the tea party has a candidate running in every local contested race. I won’t endorse anyone (I don’t get a vote anyway, since I live in the county), but will urge you to not elect that mentality to our city positions because all they will do is fight any progress in our city.

Tea partiers think that every government entity — city, county, school, state and nation — has all the money it needs. They think that these entities are wasting money and spending it on the wrong things, because it’s not benefiting them and their agenda. They oppose all government except government that imposes their own beliefs on everyone. Sadly, some of our local “media outlets” are supporting tea party candidates.

The real danger to freedom and progress in America is not immigrants, gays, liberals, minorities or people of different religious faiths. It’s also not pragmatic Democrats or Republicans. It’s the Christian right and the tea party. If you don’t believe me, ask a real Republican.

David R. Currie, Ph.D., is a retired Baptist minister, chairman of the Tom Green County Democratic Party and a local businessman, rancher and Sunday school teacher.

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tomgreencountydemocrats-blog · 7 years

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Opinion by David Currie published in the Standard-Times 2:02 a.m. CT Aug. 26, 2016

This week thousands of children and young people started back to school. The vast majority are attending neighborhood/community public schools. The same is true across our great state.

Think for a moment what your local school means to your community. Even in a city as large as San Angelo, much of our life revolves around our schools. Imagine Lake View without public schools: Is it really Lake View without schools to take pride in? I know how proud people are of Central High School.

Think about what the schools mean to communities such as Miles (where my son is head coach), or Brady (where my stepson is head coach) or Eldorado, Sonora, Irion County, Reagan County, Sterling City, Grape Creek, Bronte, Wall, Water Valley, Robert Lee, Paint Rock (where I graduated), Eden, Veribest, Ballinger, Winters and on and on and on. Forgive me for leaving a few out.

The fact is our communities revolve around our local schools. I'll broadcast the Miles Bulldog game Friday night and people who don't drive to Leakey from that area will be listening to see if I call the names of their kids and grandkids. Nothing is as important in our communities as our local public schools.

That is why it saddens me that Texas ranks 48th in the country in the amount of money we spend per student on public education. What could possibly be more important to the future of our state?

Our Texas Constitution states clearly our first priority is to be the education of our children. So why doesn't our state leadership make it a higher priority?

I can think of no more underpaid profession in America than a public schoolteacher and I can think of no profession that will have more to do with our country's future than our teachers. This will only change when we citizens demand that it change.

Recently the Tom Green County Democratic Party had an educational forum about vouchers/school choice. This is a priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who wants to take our tax dollars and give them to people to send their children to private religious schools (a violation of the First Amendment). I have nothing against private schools, but 92 percent of our children attend public schools and that is where tax dollars should be spent.

Lt. Gov. Patrick defends this idea because he says, 'We have an epidemic of failing schools in the state.'

Do any of you reading this know of a 'failing school' in your community?

The fact is there are 1,200 school districts in Texas with about 8,500 public schools. About 85, or 1 percent, of those schools are struggling, and I can nearly assure you that in those communities there are broken family structures and economic issues that are the cause, not teachers.

How about instead of vouchers we pay a bonus to teachers to teach in these areas? How about doubling the number of teachers in these areas to address the problems because they don't have parents at home to help them do homework? That might even save us prison money in 20 years.

As Tom Green County Democratic chairman, I want to publicly thank our Republican state Rep. Drew Darby for fighting the immoral voucher programs put forth in Austin and for being a champion of public education. I also want to challenge my Republican readers to pay attention to whom you vote for. When you voted for Lt. Gov. Patrick, you voted against the needs of your community school.

I urge us all, regardless of our party politics, to be supporters of public education. Our future depends on it more than any other issue.

David R. Currie, Ph.D., serves on the board of Pastors for Texas Children and is the chairman of the Tom Green County Democratic Party.

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tomgreencountydemocrats-blog · 7 years

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David Currie, Special to the Standard-TimesPublished 5:52 p.m. CT March 1, 2017

Many years ago, Jerry Falwell articulated the goal of the school choice movement well when he said, "I hope I live to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we won't have any public schools. The churches will have taken them over again and Christians will be running them. What a happy day that will be!"

Since the beginning of the religious right movement with Falwell, Phyllis Schlafly, Pat Robertson and others, the aim has been to destroy public education in America. Today they are closer than ever to achieving their goal because it is now being promoted by the president, his education secretary Betsy DeVos and Republican leaders in Texas government including the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, agriculture commissioner and land commissioner.

This is what you have elected in Texas, my friends, by choosing party over sanity.

Vouchers, school choice, education savings accounts — they are all code words intended to mask the real aim of this movement: destroy public education in America and turn all schools into institutions of religious indoctrination.

Now you may say, “Well, David, you are being an alarmist. It would never go that far. Why not try it in Texas?”

Pastors for Texas Children, on whose board I serve, will host an information session at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 9, at Southland Baptist Church. Speakers will include Veribest Superintendent Bobby Fryar and Barry Haenisch, executive director of the Texas Association of Community Schools. The purpose is to answer that very question for you.

But let me do my best to answer it here. I live in the Wall ISD. If 20 students get $5,000 apiece to leave the public school to attend a private school, Wall ISD will lose close to $130,000 that can’t be replaced. That money is just lost. No teacher can be fired, no bus route stopped, no money on utilities saved — they just lose the money.

So let me speak bluntly to my friends in the Wall ISD (and you can apply this to any ISD in our area) — when you keep electing right-wing, religious right Republicans at the state and national level, you are voting to close our schools. Please figure that out before it’s too late.

Notice I didn’t say all Republicans. State Rep. Drew Darby is a Republican who opposes vouchers. No, I said “right-wing, religious right” Republicans such as Dan Patrick, Ken Paxton, Ted Cruz, Sid Miller (yes, we have a Texas agriculture commissioner who is trying to destroy our rural communities — he sponsored the voucher bill when in the Texas House). Please take the time to learn where different Republicans stand on our children's education.

Now let me warn you about something else. Since 2008, the state has reduced spending on education by $339 per student and reduced the state’s share of spending on public education from 44.9 percent to 38.4 percent. They keep pushing the burden onto local taxpayers while bragging they are cutting taxes. (They do this to our counties as well).

Public education already is underfunded by the state; if vouchers pass we will be using tax dollars to support both public and private schools, which will harm our public schools even more.

David R. Currie, Ph.D., serves on the board of Pastors for Texas Children and is the chairman of the Tom Green County Democratic Party.

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tomgreencountydemocrats-blog · 7 years

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Opinion by David R. Currie, Published in the Standard Times 5:46 p.m. CT Feb. 1, 2017.

My favorite author, Frederick Buechner, has some memorable, thought-provoking quotes in his books. One of my favorites is:

"Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness; touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace."

What I take from Buechner’s words is to live fully, make wise decisions; in other words, pay attention to your life. Pay attention to the special moments that happen every day and to all that is happening in the world around you, even in politics.

We are starting a new year. We just experienced a divisive presidential election. My candidate lost. Yet life goes on.

Regardless of how you voted, let me ask a favor: For your own sake and that of our community, state and nation, pay attention to what is happening in our political world, because decisions made there affect the lives of real people, including you.

How do I know that many do not pay attention?

A recent survey revealed that 67 percent of those who voted for Donald Trump believe that unemployment went up under President Obama although, in reality, it decreased from 7.9 percent on his first day in office to 4.6 percent on Election Day 2016. In fact, America has seen a net increase in jobs created for 75 consecutive months, the longest such period in our history.

The survey also showed that 40 percent of Trump voters thought the stock market went down under President Obama although, according to Money magazine, it went up an average of 12 percent a year not counting dividends (3 percent a year more than when Reagan was president). It was the second largest bull market in American history. How could people miss that?

As Mary Jim, my momma, used to say, “Live in the real world.”

So let me ask you to pay attention to some threats to things we all hold dear, no matter how we voted in the past election. For example, I hope and believe that all of us — or nearly all of us — value our public neighborhood schools. They are the backbone of our communities.

In Tom Green County, 71 percent voted for Donald Trump; if you were among that 71 percent, did you really intend to vote to shut down the San Angelo ISD? Christoval ISD? Wall ISD? Grape Creek ISD? Did you really intend to shut down all the public schools in our area and replace them with charter schools and private schools?

Donald Trump stated in his campaign, “As your president, I will be your biggest cheerleader for school choice.” In case you haven’t been paying attention, “school choice” is code for vouchers; in other words, public taxpayer funds going to private schools. He hopes to put $20 billion of your tax dollars into programs that will hurt our local schools.

Were you listening? Were you paying attention?

Trump has named Betsy DeVos as secretary of education. DeVos is a strong proponent of vouchers to provide tax money for private religious schools and charter schools. She has said that “public schools are a dead end.”

She did not attend public schools or send her children to public schools. She has no experience in education — except to lobby for public money for private schools. Don’t take my word for it — Google her name and read about her.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says that vouchers for private schools is one of his top legislative priorities this year. Our state senator, Charles Perry, has supported this destruction of our public schools. Call his office (512-463-0128), and urge him to oppose school choice (vouchers) in this legislative session, which has just begun.

Thankfully, our state representative, Drew Darby, has stood strong for your public schools, but I beg you to pay attention and work to save our schools. Ask Rep. Darby how you can help him.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan wants to cut Social Security and privatize Medicare. Is this what you voted for? Pay attention. If that is not what you want, call Congressman Mike Conaway and Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. Stand up for your hard-earned retirement.

Listen to your life and to what is being said and done around you. Stay informed and make wise decisions. Work together for what is right and decent in our world. Listen — pay attention.

David R. Currie, Ph.D., is chairman of the Tom Green County Democratic Party and also on the board of Pastors for Texas Children, which opposes vouchers for private schools.

http://www.gosanangelo.com/story/opinion/contributors/2017/02/01/your-own-good-pay-attention/96964662/

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tomgreencountydemocrats-blog · 7 years

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Opinion by David Currie Published in the Standard Times 2:03 a.m. CT July 9, 2016.

Two things you can usually count on are that I will write an article regarding religious liberty around July 4, and I'll usually get it written a bit late. Again this year, such is the case.

But religious liberty is just too important a part of why our country has survived for 240 years to not take a moment and remind ourselves just what true geniuses our Founding Fathers really were.

As I mentioned last year, the original Constitution of the United States, adopted on Sept. 17, 1787, mentioned religion one time — Article VI, which stated that 'no religious Test shall ever be required as Qualification' for federal officeholders.

This was truly a revolutionary idea, as it had never been done before. In fact, religious tests/oaths and state-established churches were in all the states except New York and Virginia, but our forefathers knew history and knew that religion combined with government power always led to discrimination in the name of God.

Because even in Virginia, Baptist pastors were being put in prison for preaching without a license. Baptist leaders Isaac Backus and John Leland pushed James Madison for complete religious freedom for everyone, and that resulted in what we now call the First Amendment, which states, 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.' This amendment to the Constitution was adopted in September 1789.

My favorite John Leland quote is, 'Government has no more to do with the religious opinions of men, than it has with the principles of mathematics. Let every man speak freely without fear, maintain the principles that he believes, worship according to his own faith either one God, three Gods, no God, or twenty Gods, and let government protect him in so doing.'

I'm not sure our Founding Fathers really knew how this would turn out, but what's important is this: Democracy cannot exist without religious liberty.

That is why it is so foolish to try to start American-style governments in the Middle East. They are generations away from understanding such a concept, because they have no concept of religious liberty.

Last month the Iraqi army liberated Fallujah from ISIL. The Iraqi army mostly had Shia soldiers. Fallujah is a Sunni town, so the people there didn't want their liberators to stay around. Religion with power is destructive.

Imagine the San Angelo City Council trying to govern San Angelo if only Baptists lived in Southland, only Methodists in Santa Rita, only Catholics in Lake View, and so on. And they all were trying to control city government and discriminate against those without power. That is much of the modern world because of religion mixed with government.

Yet there are those who want America to declare itself a Christian nation: men such as Sen. Ted Cruz, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, fake historians such as David Barton, retired Judge Paul Pressler and ministers such as Jerry Falwell Jr. and Franklin Graham. Should they be successful, they will ultimately accomplish three things:

1. The destruction of Christianity in America.

2. The destruction of America as a great nation.

3. The loss of freedom for everyone who does not think like they do.

Every Fourth of July, thank God for our Founding Fathers, and don't mess with what has worked so well.

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