Once upon a time, there was common sense. It was plentiful. It took root and flourished in the most expected places, like churches and schools, and even news outlets. It was passed down to our children and to our children’s children.
Until it wasn’t.
Then came a co-opted rainbow and political movement that cloaked itself in tolerance. But it was never satisfied with mere tolerance. It demanded complete subservience. It required religious devotion. And its (mis)educator evangelists, part of the nation’s largest denomination (also known as Public Schools of America), preached its dogma and silenced dissent.
Tale As Old as Time
And this leads us to a tragic story taking place in a land not so far away, in a state called Oregon, in a place called InterMountain Education Service District (IMESD). There, common sense has shriveled and dried up in an education desert where free speech and disfavored ideas face the relentless heat of wokeism. Rod Theis, an employee of IMESD, did the unthinkable. The licensed social worker displayed two illustrated children’s books filled with common sense in one of his offices: “She Is She” and “He Is He”.
He was interrogated, censored, threatened with termination, and discriminated against for his religious and scientifically proven views on binary gender. He took this LGBTQ vs. First Amendment case to a district court, which largely ruled against him. So, he’s appealed the unconstitutional decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals thanks to the help of Alliance Defending Freedom. Otherwise, he’d have to settle being silenced and having permanent remarks on his employment record, wrongfully claiming he violated school policy that doesn’t even exist.
A Good Ole Book Banning
Keep in mind, schools served by IMESD contain books peddling porn and pedophilia, and those are perfectly fine to be displayed and read by children. It’s funny how the folks decrying “book banning” are the ones who defend books filled with adult filth as they demand books filled with age-appropriate facts be purged. A 2024 bill, sponsored entirely by Democrats, tried to remove all local power from parents and school boards. The legislation (SB1583) made it illegal to remove any books pertaining to “lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.” It was so extreme that even uber-liberal Oregon lawmakers couldn’t get a full vote on it.
Yet, Oregon educators are doing just that to books that don’t comport with their gender spectrum worldview. IMESD Superintendent Mark Mulvihill tried to justify the authoritarian tactic by absurdly claiming that these books “present a point of view that not everyone is going to agree with.” So, that’s the supposed standard in Oregon public schools? Everyone must agree with everything displayed or spoken. Good luck with that. So much for “inclusion and diversity.” Their actions are the most exclusionary, demanding complete and utter conformity or be harassed and hated.
The Next Chapter
IMESD’s Assistant Superintendent and HR Director, Aimee VanNice, “investigated” Theis. She pulled a man filled with common sense into a room filled with no sense, as she armed herself with two note takers. I had to laugh when I read one of the many inane questions described in the opening brief: “Does the [B]ible support they/them?” Theis responded that the Bible supports the simple and biological truths that the books promote: She Is She, and He Is He.
VanNice wasn’t about playing nice. She pushed and prodded: “Does this book [She Is She] support a she wanting to be a he?” Theis responded, simply: “No.” And therein lies the crux of the issue. When it comes to all things LGBTQ in Public Schools of America, faculty, staff, and students may only express one pro-LGBTQIA+ view: Gender is fluid! The gods of wokeness will not allow anything else to be publicly uttered or displayed. To speak of boys and girls as known biological designations is heresy!
Theis was told, falsely, that while teachers and staff are at work, they “are not allowed to express views and opinions on specific subjects.” Never mind many of the schools’ classrooms and faculty offices are littered with pro-Black Lives Matter, pro-illegal immigration, pro-LGBTQIA symbols, posters, and books. Those subjects are just fine if you toe the line.
I must admit I have a conflict of interest disclaimer: My wife and I are the authors of these adorable books, “She Is She” and “He Is He”, that celebrate biological and Biblical binary gender. So, I am completely biased about this attack on common sense. My bias, however, is always toward the truth, something the district court that initially ruled on this case largely ignored.
Imagine this. An education service district that serves many school districts in the eastern part of Oregon is contesting any display of these two books because woke (mis)educators branded them “transphobic” and a “hostile expression of animus” for daring to hold an irrefutable and established binary view of gender. It’s the exact same view that is taught in English and Science classes in the same schools served by taxpayer-funded IMESD.
Is This the End?
Common sense has been bludgeoned for decades by “progressivism”. The carnage is all around us. Too many parents pretend they don’t see the collateral damage (our confused and depressed children), are duped by the doublespeak, or don’t care. Public schools across the country aren’t touting the First Amendment rights that distinguish America from the rest of the world. They’re slowly erasing them, one idea or fact at a time. Teachers or staff who dare to speak or show reality…well, they’re in for a world of hurt.
I know that fighting for common sense can be incredibly painful. It’s worth it. I’m praying for free speech and religious liberty victories at the Ninth Circuit. To all the Rod Theises out there who choose to do what’s right even when you’re the only one standing up for the truth – generations will benefit from your moral fortitude.
Courage doesn’t need a crowd. It just needs someone with conviction to give these stories happy endings.
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
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