Shocking Personal Story from a Student at Santa Monica High

ChronWatch received this amazing letter from a student at Santa Monica High. The events happened last year and early this year. It speaks for itself:

My name is Christopher Moritz and I am a senior at Santa Monica High School in California. For the last four years I have endured the stigma of being an outspoken conservative Republican in a sea of liberalism. This is my story.

As we are all well aware, the American educational system has been hijacked by the left who use impressionable young people as a modem for proselytizing their neo-Marxist ideology. This problem is of national concern and affects every region of the country. Typically we associate this radical takeover of education with the university level. However, as I have learned from experience, left wing bias is prevalent throughout the high schools as well. When I entered high school I was astonished to discover the extent to which my school leaned in a singular political direction. Nearly all of the staff were liberal Democrats as were the overwhelming majority of the student body, which is over 3500 people.

The direct correlation between the political beliefs of the students and the teachers cannot be overlooked. If a student is unsure of his political beliefs and all of his teachers purport the same message, than it is safe to assume that he will adopt a similar ideology. In affect, this destroys the educational process, which is intended to provide people with the knowledge they need to formulate their own ideas. I believe this is clearly indoctrination of the youth, a tactic used by both the Nazis and Islamic radicals.

In an attempt to promote the underdog of campus politics, I formed the Political Forum Club. Along with a small band of conservatives, we have dedicated ourselves to fighting the political status quo of our school. This has been an arduous process that has brought us great criticism and retaliation by students and teachers alike. Nevertheless, we endure to promote diversity, an issue typically of great concern to the bleeding heart of the leftist--except of course, diversity of thought.

One of the first steps I took was to invite Libertarian talk radio host and author of the New York Times bestseller The Ten Things You Can't Say in America, Larry Elder, to speak at an assembly held at our school. Mr. Elder, who is black, spoke about the fact that racism no longer prevents minorities from succeeding in America. Mr. Elder also emphasized his message of personal accountability and the importance of a limited government.

The response following the assembly was frightening. Keeping in mind this was a voluntary assembly and that no one was forced to attend, many teachers and students were in an uproar. They called Mr. Elder an Uncle Tom, accused my club of racism, and some even protested our right to congregate on campus. Although a barrage of left wing speakers, including Al Gore and a radical from the United Farm Workers Union, have appeared at our school, Mr. Elder was the first conservative/libertarian to do so.

Getting approval for Mr. Elder's visit was a battle in itself. The administration tried everything they could to find a reason to cancel the assembly. The principle even tried to claim that Mr. Elder ''hated gays'' even though Mr. Elder as a libertarian, supports gay marriage and gays in the military. The principle also made me agree to invite a leftwing speaker to ''balance'' Mr.Elder the following semester. This was never a requirement for left wing speakers and a totally absurd request, considering the purpose of the assembly was to provide balance to a biased and homogeneous environment.

For many of the students this was their first time hearing a perspective contrary to the political left. Following the assembly the vice-president of my club and I appeared on Larry's radio show. Upon hearing our story on the air the president of a foundation that provides funds for the libertarian, free-trade University Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala, invited my colleague and me to Guatemala to address the students on the issue of leftwing bias. As well as speaking at the campus, we appeared on two Guatemalan radio shows for three hours in which we discussed everything from steel tariffs to the death penalty to left wing bias in academia.

I have also attempted to invite conservative author David Horowitz to speak at our school. However, the day before the assembly was to occur the principle called my house to cancel the event claiming that he had believed that we had invited David Horowitz the consumer advocate not the conservative activist. This was a ridiculous claim because I had been explicitly clear in my application for permission that the speaker was David Horowitz, the conservative. The principle claimed that he felt the assembly was too close to the end of the year and that people would be too distracted from the event to study for their final exams. In actuality the end of the year was three weeks away from our scheduled assembly. He also claimed that upon listening to Mr. Horowitz people would become too emotionally distraught and there would be no forum for which they could express their grievances effectively.

Finally, my principle said that many teachers and students were still upset about the Larry Elder assembly, and they were furious about a possible visit from David Horowitz. I am attempting to bring back David Horowitz this year and he is tentatively scheduled to appear on October 11, pending approval from the school.

In the meantime my compatriots and I have been working to bring light to another serious issue, that is, rampant anti-Americanism. Despite the fact that state law mandates the daily reciting of a patriotic oath, my school stopped reciting the pledge of allegiance ten years ago. Many classrooms do not even have a flag hanging on the wall. Following the September 11 terrorist attacks we felt that it was time the old policy regarding the pledge be reinstated. We started a campaign to bring back the pledge and we even appeared on the front page of local newspapers. Today the pledge is recited everyday.

However, this is only half the battle. Although our school has a new and more moderate administration willing to support the pledge, the teachers on the other hand refuse. Many teachers refuse to lead in reciting the pledge and some even refuse to hang the flag on the wall. Instead they will teach while the pledge is recited over the PA. Last year, following September 11, my history teacher, dragged the US flag across a dirty floor to make the point that the flag is meaningless. As shocking as this may sound, it is altogether fitting at Santa Monica High School. The lack of patriotism among the students is astounding and their animosity toward President Bush is disturbing.

I can recall one student recently stating that the terrorist acts of September 11 were not nearly as bad as all the things the USA has done over the years to further its needy interests. Many Students also believe that President Bush is creating the war against terror to strengthen his political power. To describe many of my classmates as naive or idealistic is far too kind. A far more appropriate description is ignorant, misguided, paranoid, and oblivious--accurate synonyms for most leftists. Of course that's just my opinion.

And so I am left with the task of opening the minds of my peers and bringing to light the desperate need for impartiality in education. It has been a hard fight and my reputation has been damaged in the process. I've been called every name in the book and my club has fallen victim to slanderous lies. However, this is a battle we must continue if we are to save my generation and the future nation from the alluring temptations of Marxism, socialism, and other ''progressive'' agendas.

Thank you and God bless America.

Regards,
Christopher Moritz
Santa Monica High School

I tend to believe that it has always been so. I remember back in the mid 60's when I was in high school, we all knew that most of the instructors were democRATs.

Let's face it teaching is no longer a professions and teachers are no longer professionals. Professionals do not join labor union. Working people (as the democRats put it) do join unions. They are simply empty headed union members who vote as the union tells them to. They get promoted based upon how long their body has occupied the chair in the classroom and how many little courses they have taken at the local college, not based upon their teaching skills. And don't suggest that they be promoted based upon their success teaching because it is everyone else's fault that they can't do their job.

They are now the parasites of society. And they complaim continually about being underpaid. As an MIS professionsl, I am on call 24 hr a day, 7 days a week. My sympathy for those who must spend a few evening a year grading papers at home is non-existent.

I envy the hourly salary that the teaching profession pulls in. The short days, and frequent vacations and holidays make for an yearly salary that may fall behind others, but for the hours they actually work, it is awesome.

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