January 30, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – A conservative law professor's new book details the ways in which the left attacks children's minds and indoctrinates them to adopt secular, anti-family values.
Dr. Carol M. Swain, a Vanderbilt University law professor whose pro-family views have drawn the ire of liberal activists, gave an exclusive interview to LifeSiteNews about her new book, Abduction: How Liberalism Steals our Children's Hearts and Minds.
Abduction provides parents with a blueprint for equipping their children to think for themselves and resist indoctrination from the media, Hollywood, and schools so that they can defend and share the truth with their peers.
LifeSiteNews: What inspired you to write Abduction: How Liberalism Steals our Children's Hearts and Minds?
Dr. Swain: My co-author, Steve Feazel, and I were concerned about our own children and grandchildren, as well as the off-spring of Christian parents who have shared stories of how their college-aged children and grandchildren have fallen away from the Christian faith after only one semester of college. Often the changes start in middle and high school. Steve and I wanted to offer parents and educators a practical guide on how to fight back. So, we ended each chapter with an anecdote about a person or organization who has made a difference in the area under discussion. In addition, we offered action points to help empower people to fight back.
LifeSiteNews: As a university professor, what has struck you the most about the younger generation over the past 10 years or so?
Dr. Swain: Although the university environment has changed dramatically, there is a sameness about the students. I am struck most by the younger generation’s sincerity and genuine desire to find meaning and purpose in life. Students face a new situation. Because they are impressionable, it is easy for them to be manipulated by Marxist professors and buzzwords like “social justice.” Today’s college environment is failing to nurture the healthy development of mature adults. There is an inordinate focus on safe spaces and political correctness. This encourages students to search for offenses. In addition, the messages about white privilege and white perpetuated injustices have grown louder. These changes and others have created a unstable learning environment.
LifeSiteNews: What are some of the main ways in which the left is successfully brainwashing children?
Dr. Swain: The political left brainwashes our children into thinking that homosexuality and gender dysphoria are more prevalent than they are even though statistically these orientations affect a miniscule percentage of the population. Organizations like GLAAD and SIECUS have permeated our public educational systems with questionable “age-appropriate” learning materials that promote alternative lifestyles and encourage students to question their biological sex classifications. When it comes to abortion, the political left has used language to distort and deceive people about what is taking place during an abortion. People gloss over the fact that pro-choice is really pro-abortion and that abortion ends the development of a human life.
LifeSiteNews: What are some of the best ways parents can encourage their children to think for themselves rather than blindly accept information that is fed to them?
Dr. Swain: If possible, Christian parents need to home school or send their children to classical Christian academies so they can get a strong education free of the leftist political agenda. When the time comes for college, the parents need to research the colleges and universities to see the course offerings and the focus of the institution. I would strongly recommend that Christian churches and institutions implement apologetics training to K-12 students who need to know not just the Gospel, but also the arguments and lies that they will encounter from teachers who have entered the profession primarily with the goal of correcting the thinking of Christian students.
LifeSiteNews: How can those who have already been “brainwashed” be empowered to think for themselves and reconsider politically correct falsehoods that have been imposed on them for years?
Dr. Swain: We can help our young people by exposing them to literature and ideas related to classical liberalism, the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and the Bible as a book people need to know and understand if they are to be culturally literate. It is important for Christian students to have enough apologetics knowledge to point people in the right direction after assessing where they are spiritually and intellectually. Mostly, we should remind them of our nation’s Judeo-Christian heritage and why the Bill of Rights is and was so important to the Anti-federalists. Free Speech, Freedom of Religion, and Freedom of Assembly are rights they should be encouraged to respect and defend.
LifeSiteNews: What previous culture in history do you think America most resembles right now?
Dr. Swain: Many historians find striking parallels with the rise and decline of ancient Rome. I would have to agree with them. Kurt Schlichter writing for TownHall.com argued, “Roman history is especially applicable to America and all of Western civilization. The Romans had a good run, but then their moral, political, and cultural weaknesses grew insurmountable and the empire fell. Not all at once, mind you, but slowly – Rome fell long before the barbarians showed up at the city gates and started looting.” In America, we have witnessed a gradual rejection of our Judeo-Christian heritage and traditions and an acceptance of social and moral practices that can only serve to further undermine the strength of families and their health and well-being. Fortunately, I believe we have a good opportunity to re-orient the culture and reclaim some lost ground.
LifeSiteNews: How do you think a Trump presidency will influence the left's efforts to control education and other parts of the culture?
Dr. Swain: President Trump’s election is a step in the right direction. I believe President Trump will give a fair hearing to the Christian voice and if legislation is ever to be passed to restrict biased teaching in public schools, it is more likely to happen in the Trump administration. Indeed, much of what happens in the future is dependent on the strength and integrity of Mr. Trump’s political appointees.
The Department of Education needs a strong hand and the political leeway to return power to parents and the states. If we are to change the direction of our nation, it will involve changing the culture using similar techniques that the political left used to implement its agenda. Political conservatives will need to infiltrate organizations, hire like-minded people, and lead by example. To change America, we must first change the culture. Christians who have prayed for decades for revival must continue to pray.
Dr. Swain's book can be purchased here. She is speaking at the Family Research Council at 12:00 noon on February 8.