Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

To the Editor:

My wife, who has been a senior social-science
textbook editor for a major publisher, long complained about the
ideological requirements of the Texas Board of Education, especially
since Texas, a major textbook buyer, has influenced the content of books
for other states, too. The recent conservative revisions by the board
should not surprise.

The worst part of these actions by elected
officials is that while scorning academicians as liberals, the board has
decided to rewrite standard American history to suit its partisan
values, to teach history as it thinks it should have been.

Conservatives
who are scorning Big Government might well turn attention to Texas,
which is about to require that a Republican fictional history be taught
to children throughout the state. This is government mind-control of
young students who do not know to contest it.

David Eggenschwiler
Los Angeles, March 13, 2010
The writer is
emeritus professor of English, University of Southern California.

Note from KBJ: There is no mention in this letter of the rampant progressive bias of textbooks, the correction of which conservatives seek. Oh, wait. Progressives aren't capable of bias. Their views are true, just, and beautiful. All others are the opposites of these.