by Brad Huddleston
In recent days, Augusta County, Virginia has been in the national news. The folks here are some of the most gentle, loving, generous, intelligent and God-fearing people you will ever meet. We are also a tough bunch when we need to be.
I have been so encouraged this past week as I have watched our community rise up and push back very hard against Islamic teachings within our tax-funded public schools. There is a lot of anger here (as it is in the rest of the country) and for good reason.
Along with the other Southern States, Christianity is the dominate culture in most of Virginia. Augusta County is no exception.
Political Correctness vs. America
It is no secret that Political Correctness (PC) is an agenda-driven doctrine that has become the law of the land. Political Correctness demands that we embrace diversity, multiculturalism, sensitivity, tolerance, all sexual orientations, all sexual deviances, and of course, all cultures. It demands to supersede the First Amendment of the Constitution when expedient.
There are, however, two exceptions within Political Correctness doctrine.
It is acceptable to be intolerant of traditional American culture and Christian culture. In fact, it is even encouraged to attack these two cultures.
Have you ever wondered where Political Correctness came from? Have you ever wondered who started this movement? The movement does have an origin that is not based in conspiracy theory.
A thorough and accurate study of the history of the PC movement is fascinating and lengthy, but I’ll bottom-line it here. Political Correctness used to be called Cultural Marxism, but of course promoting Marxism under that title in the United States would be a marketing nightmare. So, the academic elite at left-wing universities, such as Columbia University, re-branded the movement to a more subtle, softer, gentler and palatable title, Political Correctness.
The Marxists have been very successful at infiltrating the American education curricula with their PC ideology, and that’s where the clash in Augusta County has its origin.
Two landmark United States Supreme Court decisions in 1962 and 1963 took prayer out of our public schools and ever since, we’ve been told that God, Jesus, the Bible, and prayer have no place in public schools and public life. Naturally, this does not sit well with Christians. Afterall, Christians founded the country.
For years, the PC Police have sought to remove every vestige of Christianity from schools. No more Christmas carols, no Bible reading, no speaking Jesus’ name lest we offend other religions, and on and on this goes. Through intimidation and fear of lawsuits by organizations such as the Communist-founded American Civil Liberties Union, Christians have largely been silenced.
(By the way, that comment “…organizations such as the Communist-founded…” was not meant to be inflammatory. It is plain and simple historical fact. Even if you accuse me of McCarthyism, it will still be true that the ACLU was founded by Communists.)
As the hostility toward the Christian culture has been gaining more and more ground over the years, Riverheads High School teacher Cheryl LaPorte, under the guise of mandated school curricula (known as Standards of Learning), had some of her students write the shahada, which is the Islamic statement of faith. That statement of faith is:
There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is the messenger of Allah.
The shahada also appears appears on the ISIS flag.
Can you imagine the outcry from the left if a teacher were to have the students write the following?
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. His name is Jesus.
After giving birth to some large animal, the PC Patrol would mobilize their soldiers, complete with riot gear, and quickly move out to squash the rebellion. And, all of this would be acceptable because they are the ones raising the stink. After all, the First Amendment can apply when they deem it so.
Talk About Insensitive Timing
The teacher didn’t stop there. She went on to invite students to wear the traditional Hijab, or Muslim headscarf. This, just after attacks by Muslim terrorists in San Bernardino, 
California. Most Americans have seen the airport entry photo of Muslim terrorists Syed Rizwan Farook and Tasheen Malik, entering the United States for the purpose of murdering Americans. And there stands Malik, staring into the camera wearing her Hijab.
It appears as though the local and national left-wing media, Ms. LaPorte, a very small group who support her, and Augusta County School Board President Eric Bond can’t figure out why there has been such an uproar from the community. Well, Political Correctness and common sense have never been good bedfellows.
The religious fervor of Political Correctness is notorious for also overshadowing sound judgment.
What Augusta County residents have done is make the cultural elite live by their own rules. And they don’t like it. They can’t stand it when their “elite status” is taken away.
This is one of things that makes this county so special. We are not Politically Correct. We are American. And, there is a difference.
What a great example that Augusta County has been for the rest of the nation. Right now is the time to push back and push back hard.
Of course there are those who live in Augusta County who will scream loudly that I don’t speak for them. And they’re right. I speak against them. Actually, as a Christian, I love them so what I really mean is that I speak against their ungodly belief systems that are bad for our culture and country.
Regarding those whom I do speak for (at least in part), I remind you that our battles are not against flesh and blood. Our battles are first won and lost in prayer. After continually praying and allowing God to search our own hearts, we then continue to push back—hard.
