Americans once said, “As California goes, so goes the nation.” Hopefully after this legislative session, Americans will say, “As Texas goes, so goes the nation.”
The Lone Star State’s leaders are fighting fiercely right now to restore non-discrimination and equal rights under the law. These are American values embedded in U.S. civil rights laws and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, but they’re no longer practiced—or enforced.
Restoration of these values looks like SB 17, a bill pending before the legislature, which has national implications for higher education. It could be the first step toward bringing balance, fairness, and true diversity to Texas colleges and universities.
SB 17 seeks to rein in some of the nonsense that has been birthed on college campuses. It would do this by providing oversight of hiring and retention. Its main provisions would prohibit public institutions from requiring its faculty to submit or swear allegiance to ideological statements that compel differential treatment of individuals who fall into the university’s designated definition of a marginalized group. Job applicants and existing faculty would not be asked to submit statements divulging their views or committing themselves to engage in discriminatory behavior based on someone’s ascriptive characteristics.
Jesus shared many words of comfort to his followers. The Judeo-Christian Bible is rich in sources of comfort. We need to remember and meditate on verses that encourage us.
“As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me,that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
John 18: 17-23 (NKJV).
This is a good reminder of a way of life that’s foreign for many of us. Wishing you a blessed week and day.
Nashvillians please be aware that Metro City Council has listed on its agenda a resolution condemning Israel and its treatment of the Palestinian people. The resolution ignores reality and risks fueling more antisemitism. It’s time to send your city council member a strongly worded message about this proposed legislation and whether it represents the will of the people. #Nashville #Israel #antisemitism @MetroNashville #Hamas
