Joe Boyles: Guest Columnist
Free choice is an important human concept. Free people highly value their ability to make individual choices for how to conduct their lives. Plainly put, we don’t like to be told what to do by others. Of course, there are limits: parents make choices for their minor children, and legal authorities make choices for others according to the law.
The Bible is very clear about this matter. God recognizes that we are free to choose in every matter, good and bad. In the Apocryphal Book of Sirach or Ecclesiasticus 15th Chapter is recorded: “If you choose, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of you own choice.”
When the abortion advocates softened their language to “pro-choice,” they were very conscious of positive public relations. It is consistent with human nature and freedom.
So let’s look at a couple of other matters of choice. Take “school choice” for instance. Why shouldn’t parents have the choice of where to send their children for their schooling? Don’t parents know best, or put another way, do we really think the government knows better than the parents where their children should be schooled? When the government makes the choice of where children will be enrolled in school, aren’t we really saying (at least in this matter), the children belong to the state? Sounds draconian, doesn’t it?
Now you can make the counter-argument that parents always have the option of removing their children from the public school system and enrolling them instead in a private or home school … at their individual expense. How many families can afford that option? I would guess the percentage is fairly small – maybe 10 or 15 percent.
Furthermore it seems that the students in the worst schools who most desperately need school choice to move into a better school come from the poorest economic circumstances. In other words, the students in greatest need of school choice are least likely to be able to afford that opportunity. That doesn’t seem right, does it?
The new Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is an advocate for school choice. Because of that, her nomination was bitterly opposed by special interests from the education establishment, namely the teachers unions. It is in their financial interest to oppose school choice, and they are a powerful voice. They bankroll a lot of politicians who are beholden to them. We’ll have to see how this plays out.
Here is another choice issue: should a worker have the choice whether or not to join a labor union as a condition of work? In a right-to-work state like Florida, workers have that choice, but in a closed-shop state like Washington or Connecticut, the worker must join the union (and have his or her wages garnished for union dues) in order to join the workforce. So much for choice!
The balance between these two factions has now tipped toward right-to-work. Currently, 28 states are considered right-to-work while 22 require union membership provided that the employer hosts a labor union. The 22 closed-shop states are clustered in the northeast and west coast with a handful sprinkled in between.
In fairness, there is an argument that supports forced participation in the union: if the union is collectively bargaining on your behalf, shouldn’t you be a member? But again, the important human reaction is a matter of choice: why should you be forced to join as a condition of work?
Once again, there is a lot of money involved in this matter. Labor unions have a lot of money to throw around; and again, they’ve bankrolled a lot of political muscle. Our new president has reached out to labor unions, both during the campaign and since taking office. I don’t think he wants any money from them but rather, their support for his economic proposals.
The United States hasn’t had a military draft since 1972. Before that, young men could be forced into military service. For nearly a half century, military service in this country has been voluntary – a matter of choice. That’s how it should be.
St. Mary’s News: In a week, the season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. St. Mary’s Episcopal will observe this with the “imposition of ashes” service at 5:30 p.m. The day prior, the Episcopal Church Women (ECW) will host their annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper beginning at 5:30 p.m., Feb. 28. Everyone is invited. While there is no cost, your donation would be appreciated by the ladies to help fund their charitable causes.