On Tuesday afternoon, before the pixels could dry on our article about Ryan squealing “Pick Me! Pick Me!” to Donald Trump, the class clown went out of his way to, well, once again squeal “Pick Me! Pick Me!” to Donald Trump!
This time around, instead of issuing a fancy memo and forming a committee to pander to the president-elect and help prepare Oklahoma public schools for a period of MAGA misery, he’s announced the establishment of the “Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism” – or, as I call it, The Office of Christian Indoctrination and Nationalistic Propaganda.
Here are some details via a press release:
State Superintendent Ryan Walters today announced the establishment of the Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism at the State Department of Education, which will serve to promote religious liberty and patriotism in Oklahoma and protect parents, teachers, and students’ abilities to practice their religion freely in all aspects.
Whew. That’s a relief. It’s nice to see Ryan actually do something positive for once and address the glaring lack of religious liberty and patriotism in Oklahoma public schools!
As we all know, there just aren’t enough opportunities for students today to go to school, hold hands, and pray around a U.S. flagpole in the morning…
I grabbed that photo from the Oklahoma Baptists website – an organization that will provide up to $500 to help church groups round up kids to pray around an American flag, or, in the case of Edmond North, a pickup in the parking lot.
In addition to “promoting religious liberty,” Ryan's new office will also help prevent abuses of individual religious freedom.
The office will also oversee the investigation of abuses of individual religious freedom or displays of patriotism. Guidance to schools will be issued in the coming days on steps to ensure the right to pray in schools is safeguarded.
I’m being serious here – that’s actually a great idea!
As Ryan’s forced prayer ritual with elementary students in El Reno showed us, there is an important need to protect religious freedom – including freedom from religious proselytization – in Oklahoma public schools!
It should probably be noted that Ryan’s launch of the Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism comes just days after Governor Kevin Stitt announced he had formed the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives.
I’m not sure if Ryan’s move was coordinated with Stitt, or if it's part of a brewing rivalry among Evangelicals to see who can out-Christian Nationalist the other, but it has made me look into establishing The Office of Getting the Hell Out of Oklahoma. I’ll let you know how that goes.
Here’s Ryan’s quote about the office.
If you’re playing the Ryan Walters Fear-Mongering Christian Nationalist Catchphrases Bingo at home, let us know how many you can mark off your card!
“For decades our nation’s public schools have tragically been ground zero for the erosion of religious liberty across our country,” said Walters. “The radical left never misses a chance to co-opt the teacher unions and their minions to indoctrinate our children against traditional values of faith and family, seeking to attack any display of faith, religion, or patriotism. It is no coincidence that the dismantling of faith and family values in public schools directly correlates with declining academic outcomes in our public schools. In Oklahoma, we are reversing this negative trend and, working with the incoming Trump Administration, we are going to aggressively pursue education policies that will improve academic outcomes and give our children a better future.”
On my card, I had “teacher unions,” “radical left,” and “faith and family.” What about you?
Anyway, with Ryan working in hyperdrive to appease and appeal to Donald Trump – and apparently one-up Kevin Stitt – it will be interesting to see what the holy Christian Nationalist putz does next.
For example, I wonder if he’ll require all school choirs to sing Baptist hymns, make January 6th a school holiday, or require in-school suspension for all alleged heretics.
Whatever it is, you know the drill…
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
