Recently I heard a sermon that centered on the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13:24-30. In this parable Jesus was likening the kingdom of heaven to a man who sowed good seeds in his field but found that tares (which are poisonous if eaten) were growing along with the wheat. As the preacher preached, it occurred to me that this parable also served as a metaphor for what has happened to America. Little did I know at the time that the meaning of this parable would hit me full force from a local high school student attending an AP government course at High Point Regional High School (973.875.3101), a reputed conservative high school in New Jersey’s most conservative county.

While the farmer slept, an enemy sowed tares

Mömpelgarder Altar: The Parable of the Evil One. Cira 1540. Photographed in the Kunst Historical Museum, Vienna, Austria.

The parable begins with the owner of the field sowing good seed, but while he slept, his enemies came and sowed tares among the wheat. When thinking about the beginnings of America, it can reasonably be stated that good seed was sown but somehow we are now seeing the maturing of the tares.

The Pilgrims and Puritans endured many hardships in order to live as a free people who could worship as they believed. It can be easily argued that the seeds they planted were good. The pattern continued with our Founding Fathers, who did their best to plant the seeds of good government. And the seeds they planted survived for well over two centuries, with improvements being made along the way.

But as in the parable, Americans slept and the enemies of our land crept in and began sowing destructive seeds woven in among the good. These destructive seeds took many forms and infiltrated congress, our judicial system, our media and entertainment outlets, and our executive branch, but perhaps the most destructive seeds were sown in our schools. And like the parable, these seeds that were mixed in among the good grew unnoticed until they began strangling and corrupting our government and all aspects of our culture.

What do they teach in high schools?!?

I can write volumes on the information presented to me recently from the AP student referred to above, but excerpts from the class study material tells the story better than I. And when you read it, as I sincerely hope you do, perhaps you will begin to understand why and how we are losing our country. The full article can be found on the Huffington Post, posted September 14, 2015, written by Cody Cain and entitled “The Founding Fathers Would Deplore Donald Trump.”

…they (our Founding Fathers) desired to protect their own wealth and power. They were a small minority of rich guys, and they were worried that a majority of the population would vote to take away their wealth and power. So they created the Constitution to protect this minority of the wealthy elite and restrict the majority from being able to dispossess them…

… the founding fathers designed the Constitution to protect the minority of the wealthy elite from the dangers of the poor majority population…

…Now, some might say that the socialist Senator Bernie Sanders is the candidate whom the founding fathers would most fear because Mr. Sanders is dedicated to solving income inequality, and the founding fathers were so worried that the general population would seize and redistribute property owned by the wealthy. …But Mr. Sanders is not even close to posing any such threat and is only addressing the very real political issue of income inequality in our society. This is exactly what the political process of our democracy was designed to do. And the founding fathers themselves were also concerned about income inequality back in their day, so they would view Mr. Sanders as indeed quite a legitimate candidate. …Mr. Trump, on the other hand, is exactly what the founding fathers were worried about. Mr. …Trump is a giant megalomaniac who fails to articulate any coherent political policies, but instead generates popular support by appealing to less sophisticated people based upon nothing more than his bombastic personality and the superficiality of being a celebrity and super rich. While serious-minded people instantly recognize the nonsense in what Mr. Trump says, Mr. Trump is nonetheless able to build support by appealing to those who are less educated. … Founding father Alexander Hamilton expressed concern about “demagogues” as candidates, and founding father Elbridge Gerry declared that “demagogues are the great pests of our government, and have occasioned most of our distresses.” The definition of a “demagogue” fits Mr. Trump to a T: A candidate who seeks support by “appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument.” …Yep, that’s Mr. Trump all right. …This type of candidate is exactly the sort of danger that the founding fathers feared. They were worried about voters going berserk and electing a candidate with great superficial appeal but who entirely lacks the substance to be president.

Whether or not you are a Trump supporter or a Sanders supporter is irrelevant. What is relevant is that our tax dollars are going to support teachings that are anti-American and pro-socialist. They also fall into the category of political speak, which is strictly forbidden by the tax laws for non-profits, such as churches and schools. And did I mention…we’re paying for it!

To separate the wheat from the tares

Unlike the parable, America is not the kingdom of God – neither is any nation. So, we cannot rely on the angels to come in at harvest time and separate the good from the bad. If there is any separation to be done at harvesting time in America, it is Americans who must do the separation. But before the separation can begin, America needs to wake up and be aware of the poison that is filling the minds of young adults all over this nation. Unfortunately, Lincoln was right. The philosophy in the classroom of one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next. If we are to purge the haters of America from government and the rest of our culture, the time to separate the harvest is NOW. Tomorrow will be too late.