Vol. XI • 1989 http://www.creationism.org/csshs/v11n4p21.htm
Terminal Vision
Eric Buehrer
Terminal Vision
Eric Buehrer
Western Washington University offers o course called "Foundations of Education" which provides an example of how all the objectionable elements of global education are currently being taught. School districts around the nation seek graduates with education degrees from WWII. Not long ago the university made a commitment to indoctrinating its education majors in global education.
One of the major roadblocks to global education is the re-education of veteran teachers: obviously it is easier to mold the thinking of future teachers It makes sense, therefore, for globalists to go offer the young, impressionable college students and try to convince them of global utopianism.
Professor Philip Vender Velde teaches the course using two textbooks, Global Mandate, which he co-edited, and The Turning Point by New Ager Fritjof Capra. The future teachers enrolled in "Foundation of Education" face a continual barrage of curriculum which advocates changing our political structure to socialism and changing their personal religious beliefs to Eastern mysticism. If they do not do this, the authors claim, they imperil the future of mankind.
Global Mandate makes these assertions very clear. Regarding the need for a new religion to save the world it states, "What is needed in a world faced with possible extinction is a new global spirituality" Vender Velde, 1985, p.354). The kind of global spirituality being endorsed in Global Mandate is on odd blend of all religions with heavy leanings on Eastern mystic concepts. Exactly how religion will play a part in the new Utopia is explained as follows: "Religions and quasi-religions will be able to exist in ecumenical relationship or in new Synthesis, as in recent years individual Spiritual explorers, such as the late Thomas Merton, have sought to combine Zen or Hinduism with Christianity" Vender Velde, p.26).. Such blending of Hinduism and Christianity is typical of New Age thinking. The blend leans more towards Eastern mysticism than it does to Christianity. The reason for this imbalance is that globalists like Vender Velde and Frltjof Capra see Christianity as out-dated and no longer useful for meeting today's needs. In his book, The Turning Point, Ca pro tells future teachers that the current resurgence of evangelical Christianity is simply. "promoting medieval notions of reality." Certainly future-minded, forward-thinking educators do not wont to promote medieval notions of reality. In the place of such dusty old religion Copra offers educators a new faith that is "supported" by new discoveries in science:
As Eastern thought has begun to interest a significant number of people, and meditation is no longer viewed with ridicule or suspicion, mysticism is being token seriously even within the scientific community An increasing number of scientists are aware that mystical thought provides a consistent and relevant philosophical back ground to the theories of Contemporary science, a conception of the world in which the scientific discoveries of men and women can be in perfect harmony with their SpirItual aims and religious beliefs (Capra, 1982, p.78)
Consequently, anyone who does not hold to Eastern thought is now unscientific. These globalists consider Christians backward, unscientific, and a threat to world peace. In Capra's mind science cannot lead us to the Christian God. Such a deity was adequate for the mechanistic world of centuries ago, but now, according to Capra, science will either lead us to the Buddha or to the Bomb, "and it is Jp to us to decide which path to take" (ibid., p.87).
Capra believes that we must change our cultural values, including our political ethical, emotional, and religious values. The basis for his new value system is derived from the ancient Chinese method of divination found in a book called the I Ching. Early in The Turning Point he writes: "In our discussion of cultural values and attitudes throughout this book we will make extensive use of a framework that is developed in great detail in the Ching, and that lies at the very basis of Chinese thought" (ibid., p.35).
I Ching divination is a method of foretelling the future by using a neap of yarrow sticks, some short and some long The sticks are divided into heaps until the combinations of short and long sticks form patterns described in the I Ching. The I Ching contains sixty-four possible patterns that the combination of yarrow sticks can form; each formation has a different spiritual meaning for the future. Capra believes that this should form the basis of the future world society's religion.
In another bizarre call for the redefinition of our religious foundations, Capra expounds the virtues of adopting the feminist spiritual view of goddess worship After referring to the need for goddess worship he states: "Thus the feminist movement wi continue to assert itself as one of the strongest cultural currents of our rime. Its ultimate aim is nothing less than a thorough redefinition of human nature ... " (ibid, p.416).
In Global Mandate, Vander Vede holds to the New Age/Occult view that the earth is actually a living being just as humans are living. It is part of the cosmic, universal soul These writers profess an intense ecological-mindedness. However, when they talk ot being ecology-minded they are actually referring to a religious belief they call "deep ecology" which involves getting in touch with the spirit of mother earth and ultimately making contact with the "cosmic mind." Capra states that participation in the deep ecology movement will require a new philosophical and religious basis" (ibid., p.412).
The students' textbook emphatically states this highly religious viewpoint: In the stratified order of nature, individual human minds are embedded in the larger minds of social and ecological systems, and these are integrated in the planetary mental system, which in turn must participate in some kind of universal or cosmic mind. This view of (the) mind has radical implications for our interactions with the natural environment, implications that are fully consistent with spiritual traditions. (Vandervelde, p.17)
These writers insist that the future at the entire planet depends upon universal adoption of their new religion. On the surface globalists talk of freeing humanity to achieve great things; but a careful reading of their works reveal a much different agenda Vander Velde in Global Mandate tells future teachers that the coming utopia will necessary be somewhat totalitarian
Groups of the world's population should, for a long time at least, be able to choose traditional ways ... What alone is necessary to create a humane world society is that all subcultures be compatible with the world society's view of itself and of nature, and compatible with the unity of humanity and the earth. To the extent that any cultural tendency denied this, it would be aberrant; to the extent that such a tendency was expressed in action. it would be subversive: and. to the extent that such a tendency might become powerful, it would be taught Vander Velde, p.26; emphasis added)
The new teachers coming out of Western Washington University will be teaching citizenship education... Citizenship education of the global nature means teaching the shortcomings of our nation and the wonderful vision of the future world society. As Vander Velde states; "Nation-states have outlived their usefulness, and a new world order is necessary if we are to live in harmony with each other ... The task of reordering our traditional values and institutions should be one of the major educational Objectives of our schools" (ibid., p.10],
Vander Velde shows little regard for the public trust Parents send their children to school with the assumption that parental values are being upheld or at least are not being eroded. Vander Vede turns his back on such trust and wants educators to "re-order our traditional values." Since he sees this re-ordering as the major objective of education, it is logical to assume that he teaches prospective public school teachers to make this their primary objective.
These globalists literally think that they are the self-proclaimed saviors of the world. Education to them is not merely helping a person develop his faculties to such a degree that he becomes a fulfilled and significant participant in society. They want to be the engineers of a utopian dream-world. These globalists pursue their goals with a religious passion. They believe that if their mission is hindered it means automatic global suicide.
The students' textbook also instructs that the re-ordering of traditional values will be gradual. Put eventually "A new political order of control over human relationships will come into being. This clearly implies that a national sovereignty, which is the basis of the current nation-state system ... can be whittled away" (ibid. , p21) When this gradual departure from the nationstate system has been achieved, these globalists comment that "Eventually, of course, the United Nations or some successor organization will have to evolve into a true world government" (ibid., p.22). These authors reveal that a ten-year transition plan has been developed in a book called World Peace Through World Law. It suggests "a teaching model that could contribute to the needed transformation" (ibid., p.35).
In Global Mandate, William Boyer writes enthusiastically about the many educational avenues that globalists are infiltrating within the system. World order workshops are commonplace at curriculum conferences and social studies meetings. The National Council for the Social Studies has recognized that peace education and world order education are legitimate social studies programs.
For those public school educators who still believe that global education amounts to nothing more than studies in international trade and economics, Global Mandate sets the record straight.'
Under the name of global education there are some who have introduced the idea that our schools need to teach the history and culture of other peoples and nations so that we can sell them more American-made goods. This is anything but global education; it is, in fact, crass materialism and mercantile imperialism perpetuated under the cloak of global education. Global education should be more than our interest in selling more goods, or our concern about establishing better trade relations, it should be humanistic in its strategies to be used in the classroom discourse. Above all, . [iti should be critical of our history of aggression and violence, at the social institutions supporting the values and beliefs contributing to violence . (it] needs to bring into the process of schooling a well balanced interplay of theory and practice on how we can contribute to the creation of a new world order" (bid., pp352-353).
Globalists claim that the key political concept ot the world must be universal Socialism. Giving no other alternative, professor Vander Velde states that "we can no longer afford economic competition" (ibid, p.6). That statement sets the tone for all economic discussion n Global Mandate Further in the textbook, in a discussion at political and economic systems, he states that "A system found to be sufficiently obsolete and pathological requires fundamental redesign rather than a face-lifting; that system must either be eliminated or fundamentally transformed through substitution .. " (ibid, p.37). Globalist teachers at Western Washington University want to see capitalism eliminated and universal socialism instituted. To them, this is not an option but an absolute alternative: "Equalizing economic levels is necessary ... Controlling economic growth and redistributing assets on a world scale obviously involves ... contra, and development on a world scale ... as well as a system of de facto international taxation" (ibid, p.23).
Most global writers use less threatening and less obvious terms for socialism such as "economic justice" or "equitable distribution of human values" but one contributing author in Global Mandate states with glowing pride that "Socialism from the start has opposed nationalism and summoned proletarians of all countries to unite"' (ibid., p31)
Capra's book hits the future educators in this course with the salvation of socialism. He calls for political and economic upheaval that will mirror Mao Tse-Tung's cultural revolution on a global scale. In describing what action this new world government will have to take, he states that "This will include, among many other measures, the decentralization of populations and industrial activities, the dismantling of large corporations and other social institutions, the redistribution of wealth, and the creation of flexible, resource-conserving technologies" (Capra, p.396).
His call for decentralizing populations appears to be a call for forced evacuation of urban dwellers to rural areas. Of course, these social manipulators always have the good of the masses in mind so we should trust them to their endeavors. After all, history is replete with examples of leaders who hod the good of the masses in mind: Lenin, Stalin, Pol Pot, Moo Tse-Tung, and Hitler. It ust so happened that a few million people had to be removed to insure the health of the whole society These new totalitarians hove already assured us that those who oppose the good of the world society will be considered aberrant, subversive, and will be fought.
Reasonable educators and parents must wake up to what is happening. The majority of educators certainly do not realize the motives and goals of global educators. Most educators are simply trying to do the best job they can in meeting the needs of children and society. They recognize the problems facing the world and truly want to make some kind of significant impact in their world. This is commendable. But these same educators must begin to ask global educators tough questions based on thorough research. Passive acceptance of global dogma is dangerous. And of course, total capitulation to global educators' strange vision of the future would cripple the individual and society. These globalists are utopian dreamers totally out of touch with reality. Even if such a world state were to be installed it would not build the grand Garden of Eden they so desire.
The real danger in implementing global education is that a generation of children will be wasted on this scheme for social engineering. These "experimental" children will be cut off from their cultural roots in Western civilization; they will be set adrift in of sea of ambiguity; religious children who hold to certain absolute convictions will be victimized by these programs. This "experimental" generation will not be educated to use their faculties to truly make their own decisions: they will be encouraged to accept socialistic dogma and Eastern mystical philosophy....
Beware of the vision that is terminal.
Fritjof Capra, The Turning Point. New York: Bantam Books, 1982.
Philip Vander Velde and Hyung-chan Kim, editors, Global Mandate: Pedagogy For Peace, Bellingham, WA: Bellweather Press, 1985. (Center for Global and Peace Education, School Education, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225.)
Editor's Note: Reprinted from Education Newsline (February, March, April 1987), P. O. Box 320 Costa Mesa, CA 92628. For a more complete study, read Terminal Vision by Eric Buehrer, $6.0 ppd. from above address.
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