The Texas Board of Education, an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one, continues to display its utter ignorance and xenophobia as it continues to try to edit out of their schoolbooks any elements they see as “pro-Islamic” and “anti-Christian”. If you’re wondering exactly what that means, don’t worry: it just implies anything involving a favorable mention of the accomplishments of Middle Orient cultures will be excluded from the curriculum — all in an effort to ensure their own narrow view of history is preserved. I think all of this is utterly pointless. It incorrectly assumes people in Texas are even bothering to read, which, judging by the low-test scores and general lack of intellectualism, is certainly not the case.

What I find hilarious about this travesty is how telling it is of religion in general, that believers would be so frightened of other cultures and ideologies they would do anything in their power to prevent their own progeny from actually benefiting from an education. If they are so self-assured of the primacy of their beliefs, why are they so frightened of other views? It doesn’t take long to realize the much-extolled confidence of world religions is merely a façade. They are obviously aware of how tenuous their grasp on their own followers are; they need only to look at the long list of defunct religions for inspiration and compare it to the knowledge and understanding we’ve gained in more fruitful intellectual pursuits.

Keep being the backwards, loser state that you are, Texas! I can’t wait to see what you come up with next…