Many Americans are lamenting the freedoms that are gradually being taken away. Sadly, many young people seem indifferent, but I understand this because for the last twenty years the next generation has been inundated with the supposed advantages of Socialism. College professors, who often lack real-life experience, speak of the evils of Capitalism and all the virtues of Socialism and Communism. Bernie Sanders, a self-attesting socialist had a serious run as President four years ago. Now, Kamala Harris, who was ranked #100 as the most radical senator—worse than Bernie Sanders—is now running for the same office.
Young people have limited understanding of history, especially those who are being taught in the public school. They fail to realize important things like why Florida has transitioned from a swing state to a solid red state. It is because of the influence of Cuban refugees who experienced first-hand the results of Socialism and Communism. They are quick to tell anyone who will listen the horrors of a government with absolute power. Homeschoolers would do well to learn this lesson at other people’s expense before it comes to their own lives and costs them.
If freedoms are lost, they take generations to recover. Why is this important to remember? Our government, any government, has a predisposition to be the fifth thing that never has enough:
Sheol, the barren womb, the land never satisfied with water, and the fire that never says, “Enough.”—Proverb 30:16 (ESV)
Consider also the preceding verse in Proverbs. Could we call these two daughters the state and federal governments?
The leech has two daughters: Give and Give. –Proverbs 30:15 (ESV)
Once government cracks the door, its very nature is to seek to widen that crack. Take abortion for example. It was initially proposed only in cases of incense, rape, or if the mother’s life was in question. That door has now widened to where a child can be killed moments before he or she comes out of the womb. Some suggest a mother has the right to abort the child even after it comes out of the womb, a.k.a. murder. This is the result, not of bad people doing bad things—we should expect that—but of good people doing nothing.
What is my point? There has been a lot of time, energy, and resources spent on making Illinois one of the greatest states in the union in which to homeschool. The question to always keep in front of us is, “If it comes down to it, what will we do to maintain our freedoms and our rights that were won by the blood, sweat, and tears of our parents and grandparents?”
Just over a decade ago, a senator proposed mandatory registration. Around 5,000 homeschoolers took time off work and showed up at the Capitol in Springfield to protest. That legislation died a quick death. What if these parents didn’t want to be inconvenienced? What if they felt they were too busy to come to Springfield or they didn’t have the money for a tank of gas? What if they felt someone else could do it, while they, like leeches themselves, sucked the nectar of the efforts of others? We could quite possibly be filling out lesson plans and attendance records every week and sending them to a government agency who felt empowered to say whether we were doing it right and potentially shut us down. We think no, no, no; that could never happen. That very thing did happen in the Chicagoland area a few decades ago as a regional superintendent tried to do that very thing. He was starting to take homeschoolers to court until the people stood up for their rights, and the foolishness stopped.
I share all of this to remind us that freedom is not free. From various studies, I estimate there are some 30,000 homeschooling households in Illinois. If push ever comes to shove again, we should all, every individual family, take responsibility and respond in mass by descending upon Springfield and by calling our state legislators until it overwhelms their phone system. If you think you are busy as a homeschooler now, wait until you must fill out reports like other states do. If you get frustrated now, wait until a state officer knocks on your front door, questioning your methods or curriculum or why your children are outside playing at 1:00 in the afternoon.
We think this could never happen here in Illinois, but it happens every month in various states throughout America. All it takes is one overzealous and underinformed superintendent, principal, mayor, legislator, etc. to do much damage and cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. As I write this article today, I had four different meetings to address some serious rumblings in Springfield. This is why you may feel my passion. We are always working behind the scenes so you can homeschool freely.
America has more than its fair share of complainers, yet in the 2020 presidential election, roughly 81 million eligible voters did not show up at the polling booths. Depending upon how they would have voted, America could look a lot different than it does now. Americans forfeit their right to complain when they forfeit their responsibility to get involved. As homeschoolers, may we never complain in the future when we didn’t take necessary action today. Please know that the ICHE Legislative Task Force and other sister organizations are working on your behalf. Will you be there when needed to do whatever it takes to keep homeschoolers free in Illinois?
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