Who Is Tatiyana Ibrahim?

            My VIP for this week is Tatiyana Ibrahim, a mother who criticized her school board business meeting last week for “emotionally abusing” the children and teaching them “communist values.” Ibrahim’s child attends one of the schools in the Carmel Central School District, and she does not like the idea of teachers being allowed to promote Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ, and anti-police ideologies in the district.

            According to the video of the school board business meeting, “Ibrahim accused the teachers of allegedly discriminating against religious students and of promoting cancel culture.”

Stop indoctrinating our children. Stop teaching our children to hate the police. Stop teaching our children that if they don’t agree with the LGBT community that they’re homophobic. You have no idea each child’s life…. You don’t know what their family lifestyle consists of, you don’t know the makeup of their life.

            I encourage you to watch the video. Ibrahim stood up and said what you wanted to say, and she refused to be silenced when she started to name names. Conservatives need to make their voices heard, but none of us need to be impolite. Our nation needs more civility and open discussion, and each of us has a part to play in bringing these principles back to America.

How Do We Return to the Days of Honest Debate and Civility?

             The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is cancel culture, the enemy of freedom of speech. It is the effort by Democrats, liberals, Leftists, and socialist to cancel all conservatives and their policies. Cancel culture has gotten so bad that even Democrats fear that it will come for them at a future time. It is also backfiring on a regular basis.

            Kay C. James is a black conservative, and she is quite familiar with cancel culture. The cancel culture has tried to cancel James for more than 40 years. She wrote, “I was canceled by the political left long before cancel culture was all the range. 

            Before she became the president of The Heritage Foundation, James was formerly the director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management as well as Virginia’s secretary of health and human resources. She is also the founder and chairman of the board of The Gloucester Institute.

Liberal America doesn’t want to hear from African American conservatives because we go counter to its narrative that black people needed liberal saviors, especially ones who come bearing gifts of more government.

But we weren’t just canceled by liberals. For decades, liberals worked to put a wedge between black conservatives and our own communities. As a result, many African American leaders wouldn’t invite us to the table and wouldn’t allow us to offer our ideas to help solve problems in our own communities. We weren’t considered “authentically black” – whatever that is.

            James was “lectured” about “being a traitor to my race when I started thinking for myself as a young woman in my 20s.” She dared to question the idea that “government was always the answer to our social ills. They also called her a traitor because she was the national spokesperson for the National Right to Life Committee and discussed “the tragic wrong of abortion, especially in the African American Community.”

The leftists “lost it” when James “started a crisis pregnancy center to help black women keep their babies and again when she “led the effort to reform welfare in Virginia in the 1990s.” The system that she was trying to reform “discouraged marriage and work, that weakened the black family, and that fostered perpetual dependence.”

Because she “has been a public figure” for four decades, she learned much about “cancel culture and the ‘woke’ cancel culture that pervades society today.” Here are the seven lessons that she learned.

1. First and foremost, don’t give a damn about cancel culture. If you do, you’re giving small-minded people control over you that they don’t deserve….

2. Always be honest. The best defense is always the truth. Moreover, make sure you have your facts straight before you speak and that you can back up what you say.

3. When you’re wrong, have the courage to admit you’re wrong. But when you’re right and taking a principled stand, have the courage to stand up for those principles, even in the face of withering criticism. Others will see your strength and be encouraged by it.

But if you’re right and you give in, you have only served to embolden cancel culture. You have fed its voracious appetite and made it stronger, giving it more energy to seek out its next victim [and] harder for others to stand up for the truth….

4. Don’t try to cancel others. There’s no need to be cruel and adopt the tactics of cancellation….

5. Be principled and don’t be a hypocrite. Hypocrites make easy targets for canceling and are fun for everyone to take down few pegs.

6. Expect that anything you write or anything that you say in front of a camera … could end up trending on social media or landing on the front page of a newspaper… think twice about saying or doing it.

7. There are an awful lot of people who are willing to deliberately take things out of context to make other people look bad. So always include context with what you say and write publicly…. People may still take you out of context, but you will always “have the receipts,” as they say.

            The Constitution of the United States guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press. We have the right to say or write anything that we choose. So, in the words of James, “you can’t be afraid to speak up for what you know is right.” She said, “Honest debate has been the cornerstone of Americans finding the best solutions to our biggest issues for nearly 250 years. For the sake of our society, it’s time to return to those days” when we could debate, disagree, and still be civil.

How Can I Please God?

            My Come, Follow Me lesson for this week took me to Doctrine and Covenants 60-62. During the summer of 1831, the Prophet Joseph Smith took a group of 185 people from Kirtland, Ohio, to Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. The group was known as Zion’s Army, but they did not fight any battles. The Lord used the journey to prepare future leaders of His Church.

            Prior to leaving for Missouri, the Prophet held a conference in June 1831 with the elders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kirtland. The elders were organized into companionships and sent to Jackson County with the charge to “Preach by the way” (Doctrine and Covenants 52:10). Many of the elders were obedient and followed the instructions diligently, but others did not.

As the elders prepared to leave Jackson County to return to Kirtland, the Prophet received another revelation, where the Lord again instructed the elders to preach the gospel as they traveled. The Lord began the revelation by chastening the elders who did not fulfill their responsibility.

With some [elders] I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man (Doctrine and Covenants 60:2).

            The talent mentioned by the Lord is the knowledge and testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. All those who receive those gifts are under obligation to share them with others. There are many members of the Church of Jesus Christ who feel great sympathy for the disobedient elders because we are also hesitant to open our mouths to share the gospel. There could be numerous reasons for our hesitation. We could hesitate “because of the fear of man” just like the early elders. We may not feel worthy enough or capable enough to teach the gospel.

Whatever our reason, we should have more trust in the Lord because He “knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor [us]” (Doctrine and Covenants 62:1). The Lord gives many reassurances that can help us to share the gospel. Some of those assurances are: “I, the Lord, rule in the heavens above.” “I am able to make you holy.” “All flesh is in mine hand.” And “be of good cheer, little children, for I am in our midst.” (See Doctrine and Covenants 60:4, 7; 61:6, 36.)

The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805-1844) taught that our “greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 330). In recent years, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the First Presidency, explained how we can fulfill this important duty.

My dear young friends, perhaps the Lord’s encouragement to “open [your] mouths” [Doctrine and Covenants 60:2] might today include “use your hands” to blog and text message the gospel to all the world! But please remember, all at the right time and at the right place.

… With the blessings of modern technology, we can express gratitude and joy about God’s great plan for His children in a way that can be heard not only around our workplace but around the world. Sometimes a single phrase of testimony can set events in motion that affect someone’s life for eternity.

The most effective way to preach the gospel is through example. If we live according to our beliefs, people will notice. If the countenance of Jesus Christ shines in our lives, if we are joyful and at peace with the world, people will want to know why. One of the greatest sermons ever pronounced on missionary work is this simple thought attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi: “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words” [in William Fay and Linda Evans Shepherd, Share Jesus without Fear (1999), 22]” (“Waiting on the Road to Damascus,” Ensign, 2011, 76-77).

            I have been sharing my knowledge and testimony with my words in this blog since September 2009. I believe that it is only fitting that I again share my testimony that Heavenly Father is real and is a divine, resurrected Personage. He created a plan for the happiness of all His children, He loves each of us, and He wants all of us to return to His presence for eternity. I know through the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus Christ is His Son and has redeemed all of us from the Fall of Adam and Eve. He has also prepared the way for us to become clean from our sins and be worthy to return to the Father’s presence.

I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith and is taught in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I also know that Russell M. Nelson is the Lord’s prophet on the earth today, and we can become more like Jesus Christ by following his example and counsel. I know that the Book of Mormon – Another Testament of Jesus Christ was translated by the power of God and teaches the truth. I know that we can grow closer to the Savior by studying the Book of Mormon than by any other book in the world.

I know that I am pleasing God as I “open [my] mouth” and share my knowledge and testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope that you will hear His voice in my words, study the Book of Mormon, and search out the missionaries to learn more about His work.

What Skills Should I Learn to Become a Better Parent?

            Families, communities, and nations when parents develop and use good parenting skills. Ideally, every young adult should take a parenting class because the skills learned in such a class can help in other relationships. Specifically, every couple should learn good parenting skills before their first child is born. However, it is never too late to become a better parent, and good parenting includes forever learning. It is impossible for mere mortals to become perfect parents.

            The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published a manual for parents, one that is used in any parenting class taught by Church leaders. The title of the course is Strengthening the Family – Resource Guide for Parents. You can purchase a copy of the manual at this site for $4.40. 

            The parenting course consists of nine sessions with the lessons based on principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The lessons are as follow:

1. Parenting Principles and Practices

2. Understanding Child Development

3. Communicating with Love

4. Nurturing Children

5. Fostering Confidence

6. Overcoming Anger

7. Resolving Conflict

8. Teaching Responsible Behavior

9. Applying Consequences

            A common practice that takes place during most of the sessions is the skill of role playing. This skill is usually difficult for parents to learn, but it is useful in preparing children to face difficult situations. If a child has acted out a certain scenario with a parent – such as stranger danger or refusing drugs or helping a friend overcome a tendency to harm themselves – it will be easier for a child or teenager to know what to do when they face the situation in real life. This site has a helpful video in the importance of role playing. 

            The role of a parent is an important one in the eyes of God, and parents will be held accountable by God for their parenting experience. A parent is successful as long as she or he continues to love and care for their child – regardless of the success of the child. Numerous prophets have taught that parents fail only when they stop trying to help their child. When parents learn and practice good parenting skills, they can strengthen their family, community, and nation.

Did Pandemic Restrictions End the Limits of the Free Exercise Clause?

             The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns the First Amendment’s free exercise clause. More than 30 years ago, the free exercise clause took a hit in a case known as Smith. The Supreme Court ruled in April 1990 that the free exercise clause does not protect religious groups unless there is mistreatment or limit religious activities.  

            In an article first published in the State of Faith newsletter and later published in the Deseret News, Kelsey Dallas explained that government officials “typically enjoyed the legal system’s support” as long as they did not “single out a faith group for mistreatment or limit only religious activities.” 

            In April 2021, the Supreme Court granted relief to churches in California that could not meet due to the gathering rules related to the pandemic. The Court ruled that a law must “be considered neutral and generally applicable” – a bar that is higher than it was previously.

“Government regulations are not neutral and generally applicable … whenever they treat any comparable secular activity more favorable than religious exercise,” justices wrote in Tandon v. Newsom.

Previously, most courts had taken Smith to mean that religious exemptions only rarely needed to be granted. Judges allowed the government to deny faith groups’ requests unless those groups proved someone else was already getting essentially the exact accommodation they wanted.

            Dallas further explained that “religious individuals and organizations” should have an easier time after Tandon, but few religious leaders believe that the war on religion is over. This is because Tandon was not “argued before the court and the opinion was unsigned.” The “justices did not limit its applications,” but they also did not state “their new ideas about Smith in a more former way.”

But that could change in the very near future when the court rules on its biggest religious freedom case this term. In Fulton v. Philadelphia, which pits a Catholic foster care agency against city officials, justices have been asked to entirely overturn Smith and further strengthen the free exercise clause.

In light of the Tandon decision, it seems there will be enough votes for the court to, at the very least, affirm that Smith only rarely applies, religious freedom experts told me.

In the future, legal scholars could point to the pandemic era as the end of limits on the free exercise clause.

            The end of limits to the free exercise of religion would be a giant move by the Court. It would also be one of the few good things to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why Is There a Surge in Antisemitism?

            I sometimes wonder if Americans and citizens of the world are growing more stupid as time passes. World War II was fought to end socialism and swore that hate crimes would end. Yet, attacks on Jews are increasing since Palestinians started lobbing missiles into Israel.

            Jason Breslow at National Public Radio (NPR) gave several examples of attacks on Jews. “In Skokie, Ill., it was a shattered window at a synagogue. In Bal Harbour, Fla., it was four men yelling, ‘Die Jew,’ at a man in a skullcap, then threatening to rape his wife and daughter. And in Midtown Manhattan, it was a group of people attacking a Jewish man in the middle of the street in broad daylight.” He continued by saying that there was “a wave of antisemitic attacks” that have “broken out in communities over the last two weeks” from California to New York. 

            According to Mya Jaradat, another attack took place at a synagogue in Salt Lake City in mid-May. Rabbis Benny and Avremi Zippel left their “synagogue at midnight on May 15 after making final preparations for Shavuot, when Jews celebrate receiving the Torah.” When “a worker arrived the next morning,” he/she found “a swastika etched on the glass door.” 

            It was only natural for Rabbi Benny Zippel to feel “violated” when he saw the vandalism. He commented, “Hatred, antisemitism, bigotry are alive and stronger than ever.” It is sad to know that this attack was not an isolated event, but “just one incident among a reported surge of antisemitic hate crimes” that have popped up in the month after the violence in Israel erupted. Jaradat wrote the following statement.

From May 10 to 23, the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish organization founded to combat hate, received 222 reports of violence against Jews, a 75% increase compared to the preceding two weeks, according to Seth Brysk, the organization’s Central Pacific regional director.

This recent uptick in attacks on Jews has revived ongoing debates about how antisemitism is defined, what gives rise to anti-Jewish sentiment and – most importantly – how it can be eradicated.

Experts on Judaism and hate believe there needs to be more education around antisemitism and more leaders willing to speak out against xenophobia and hate crimes. In America, we also need to shore up civil society so that those who might gravitate towards extremist movements have somewhere more positive to take that energy, they say.

“We need to think outside of the box,” said Kenneth Stern, director of Bard College’s Center for the Study of Hate.

            Jaradat continued by explaining that a disagreement exists among members of the Jewish community for the definition of antisemitism. “Most of the debate centers around whether or not criticism of Israel should be seen as inherently problematic.” However, “There are clear things everyone can agree on,” said Stern.

“When somebody picks out a Jewish target – whether they hate Jews or because they’re holding Jews responsible for the action of Israel – it’s clearly antisemitism.”

Whenever an individual is held “responsible for a collective,” it’s fair to say there’s antisemitism or racism involved, he added.

It’s less clear how to respond to or think about statements against Israel or Zionism, Stern and other experts say.

            There are questions about how to fight antisemitism. According to Jaradat, there are people “who track violence against the Jewish community agree the Palestinian movement is not in and of itself antisemitic and should not be blamed for recent attacks.”

“People are looking for excuses to share the feelings that they have inside of them,” Rabbi Benny Zippel said.

In general, both antisemitism and hate crimes have been on the rise in the U.S. since 2016. The climb began around the time President Donald Trump was elected – there was a dramatic spike in hate crimes on the day after the election – and continued throughout his tenure.

The surge in antisemitic incidents only accelerated in 2017, according to the Anti-Defamation League. By 2019, hate crimes had reached their highest levels in more than a decade, The Associated Press reported last year.

            I think that it is interesting that Trump is being blamed for the increase in antisemitism. He has a Jewish son-in-law, a daughter who converted to Judaism, and grandchildren who are Jewish. He supported Israel better than any previous president or Biden. He even did what numerous previous presidents promised to do – move the Embassy to Jerusalem. Trump was not antisemitic even though he limited migration.

“Antisemitism thrives best historically when people are given ammunition to act on an impulse to see an ‘us’ and a ‘them,’” Stern said.

He and other experts believe that growing interest in populism and conspiracy theories also contributed to the problem.

“Antisemitism is the granddaddy of them all,” Stern said, referring to conspiracy theories. “Even if you don’t start there, you might end up there.”

            The solution to the rising antisemitism may require new organizations. However, Stern said, “The ability to beat back some of these other expressions of hate have to do with how strong our democratic institutions are” – noting that hatred grows when democracy falters.

            Rabb Zippel expressed his belief that hate crimes and political division are “another indicator of a failed society.” However, he keeps looking for a silver lining.

Have School Boards Grown Too Powerful for the Good of the People?

             Parents and conservatives have been pushing for schools to open for over a year, but some school districts remained closed. A month ago, we learned that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was lobbied by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to keep school closed. The teachers union went so far as to suggest the language to be used by the CDC in their statement about reopening in February 2021. Emails between the CDC, AFT, and White House officials show that the AFT was doing a full-court press on the federal agency. The teachers did not the schools open for in-person learning.

            We would not have this information with the power of a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Americans for Public Trust. The information was then given to the New York Post and Jon Levine. According to Levine, the emails show that there was close coordination between the officials at the CDC and union officials with White House officials kept in the loop. 

The documents show a flurry of activity between CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, her top advisors and union officials – with Biden brass being looped in at the White House – in the days before the highly-anticipated Feb. 12 announcement on school-reopening guidelines.

“Thank you again for Friday’s rich discussion about forthcoming CDC guidance and for your openness to the suggestions made by our president, Randi Weingarten, and the AFT,” wrote AFT senior director for health issues Kelly Trautner in a Feb 1 email – which described the union as the CDC’s “thought partner.”

“We were able to review a copy of the draft guidance document over the weekend and were able to provide some initial feedback to several staff this morning about possible ways to strengthen the document,” Trautner continued. “… We believe our experiences on the ground can inform and enrich thinking around what is practicable and prudent in future guidance documents.”

            I believe that it is wise for government officials to listen to counsel from all quarters in the nation. However, I do not think that it is necessary to allow any of the sources of counsel to make the decisions that should be made by government officials. Levine wrote that “The lobbying paid off” because “suggestions” made by the union were adopted nearly verbatim in the final CDC document.

The above email information shows that the AFT carries a lot of power in the nation. Is it too much power?  Is it the reason why people have problems with their local school boards? Three single mothers tried to attend the school board meeting in the small southwest Washington town of Washougal, which sits on the Columbia River just across from Portland, according to Victoria Taft at PJ Media. 

The three women signed up to speak at the board meeting about critical race theory (CRT) and mask mandates on May 11. Tatyana Stepanyuk, Patricia Bellamy, and Melissa MciIwain were concerned about the mask mandates as well as the CRT “being added to the curriculum under orders from Governor Jay Inslee. None of the women were allowed to speak even though the in-person meeting was sparsely attended but broadcast online. The meeting “barely got off the ground before the school superintendent and her underling insisted that Stepanyuk – the only person in the room without a mask – should put on a mask.

Stepanyuk reminded the superintendent that the governor decreed that people with medical and religious exemptions did not need to wear masks. She also noted that every other person in the room was wearing a mask. There should be no problem because they were protected. The officials insisted that Stepanyuk needed to comply with the mask mandates.

Bellamy and MciIwain were both wearing masks and said that they had no problem with Stepanyuk not wearing one. This was their first mistake. They assumed that the school officials were mainly concerned with the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. That was not their main concern.

The superintendent, assistant superintendent, and a board member took turns for more than 20 minutes of standing over Stepanyuk and lecturing her. “Stepanyuk took video of the last eight minutes of the lecture, calmly recited the law, and remarked about how she was sorry that these educators hadn’t educated themselves about the mask law.” Meanwhile, Bellamy and MciIwain were masked up and waiting for their opportunity to speak at the meeting.

The meeting was stopped, and people at the meeting left. The three moms were among those who left. However, they received a call from a parent watching the fiasco on Zoom, who told them that a new meeting was being held. They turned around and went back only to learn that the door was locked.

The women knocked on the door and spoke through an open window, requesting that they be allowed to attend the meeting. Someone closed the window on them. “Bellamy told me on the radio on Friday that for the next 30 minutes the women stood there in disbelief while the people inside, including the board members, ‘laughed at and mocked’ them.”

Someone used sidewalk chalk to write words – such as “illegal” -- on the sidewalks, windows, and the car of one of the officials. The next thing that the women knew, a local police officer was and cited all of them for trespassing and Stepanyuk for disorderly conduct. The district website stated the next day that the “board members said they “will not tolerate the acts of vandalism, disorderly conduct or intimidation.”

The mothers were not trying to intimidate anyone, and it was not the mothers who interrupted the meeting. “You need only look at the superintendent and the board who disrupted their own meeting to browbeat a mom, who had the law on her side, in a vain attempt to force compliance…. If they had left her alone, they could have proceeded with the meeting” and there would not have been any vandalism.

And now, because of the trespassing citation, the single mothers were instructed that they could be arrested and cited for burglary if they show up on district property to pick up their children from school or go to their children’s athletic events. MciIwain would risk arrest going to her children’s graduations from kindergarten and fifth grade.

All this action came about because the three mothers had some concerns that they wanted to address at a local school board meeting. The women are not going away quietly. MciIwain and Bellamy created a website called Washougal Moms to get their story out. They are also seeking donations to pay legal bills because they believe that they were defamed by the school district in the local newspaper. They held a rally to draw attention to the issue and said that they have already found candidates for the school board. They are also looking for a civil rights attorney to sue the district. They may have a good case.

An attorney with the Freedom Foundation, which is already combating the state’s mask mandates, says there may have been violations of state open meeting laws and civil rights violations.

            You never know when you might open a can of worms by simply signing up to speak at a public meeting. The results of this case should be interesting.