Back in 1983, KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov stated that it takes 15-20 years to indoctrinate a generation. That’s the length of time it takes to educate one child. He called it “ideological subversion” and said it means “…to change the perception of reality of every American to such an extent that despite the abundance of information no one is able to come to sensible conclusions in the interest of defending themselves, their families, their community, and their country.” It’s been happening in America since at least the 1960s, and countering it will likewise take decades.

We nurture our children, we raise them and we send them off to school hoping that their teachers will instruct them in what they need to know. Years pass. The dramas of elementary- and middle-school give way to the challenges of high school. Experiences with dating are added to the growing intensity of academics, athletics and extra-curricular activities and then the pressures of post-graduation plans.

Our kids come home from high school or college and surprise us with how much they've changed in such a short time. This is to be expected, but sometimes the degree of those changes sets us back. I remember my sister changed so much during her high school years that we almost didn't recognize her after a while, and this was in the mid-1970s.

It's deeply upsetting when kids come home from college spouting rhetoric that would have once been unthinkable for them. It's worse when they come home from high school, middle school, or even elementary school with such ideas.

Most my professional career was spent teaching children in grades 6-9. Kids in this age group are trying to identify as individuals but at the same time they conform to cues from their friends and classmates. It’s an extremely challenging, emotional time and it’s natural for them to look for guidance. Children in this age group want to be not just accepted but popular, just like the athletes, musicians, and celebrities they admire.

The sudden rise in young people with gender identity (GI) issues has been startling, to say the least. Brown University professor Dr. Lisa Littman studied 250 families whose children developed GI during or right after puberty. She described what she called “Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria” (ROGD) that developed from social pressures. She reports that just before those children “came out,” over half were directly exposed to peers who had announced that they were transsexual. They had shown a noticeable increase in their consumption of social media, especially YouTube videos of influencers and celebrities who had come out as gay or transgender. Children in Dr. Littman’s study who developed ROGD became highly critical of heterosexual individuals and their lifestyle, and their parents reported that their children’s criticisms “sounded scripted.” It strikes me as an example of social contagion.

Parents first got a glimpse into what schools were teaching during COVID when they viewed take-home school work and streamed lessons. They are (or should be) shocked and outraged when their children are suddenly and disturbingly concerned with highly-charged sexual issues, or confused about their own sexual identity. A cursory internet search yields stories of teachers bragging about indoctrinating their students into LGBTQ+ ideology sometimes leading to gender dysphoria.

Under the guise of welcoming gender-confused students and providing a safe space, they further confuse them to the point where some children end up making permanent, life-changing decisions. Children who are too young to vote or purchase alcohol are sometimes permitted and even encouraged to take hormone blockers which can sterilize them, or submit to surgeries that mutilate their genitalia. Shockingly, in some states parents who complain about this may have their children removed from their home.

New Jersey law requires that students be taught that abortion is a “pregnancy outcome” and that they can “get an abortion at any age, without parental knowledge or consent, at the expense of the state.” They also stipulate that “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender sexual relationships are safe and healthy options for adolescents and teach the normality of same-sex families to children in kindergarten and up.”

Pre-K and elementary school-aged children are being exposed to books that portray gay, transgender, and non-binary characters. Muslim, Christian and Jewish parents in Maryland unsuccessfully lobbied to excuse their children from classes on gender identity. A lawyer for the parents is quoted as saying, “The court just told thousands of Maryland parents they have no say in what their children are taught in public schools.”

Many parents across the country have had enough and they’re fighting back. In ever-greater numbers they’re resisting the divisive lessons on group identities based on race, religion, sexual orientation and gender. They expect that their children will be taught objective truths that will enable them to develop into resilient, capable young adults.

They’re pulling their kids out of public schools, placing them in charter, private, or parochial schools or home-schooling them. They’re speaking out at school board meetings and they’re forming groups to pressure legislators and educational administrators. Corinne Johnson, a member of Utah Parents United, said that “There’s a huge difference between teaching children good social, mental health, time management and resilience skills versus programs that fundamentally transform values, attitudes and beliefs.”

Some parents are taking legal action against schools that are pushing gender identity indoctrination. Under Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida lawmakers passed legislation preventing teachers from teaching gender ideology to students in grades K-3. One wonders why students in grades 4-11 are not likewise protected. The legislation also imposes stricter penalties for adults who engage in explicit sexual conversations and other shameful actions with children.

Muslim parents in Minnesota are taking a strong stand against books being used in grades K-5 that teach about same-sex attraction and gender identity. Their objections sound like something any rational parent would say -- that they, as parents teach their children to be respectful of others, that sexual identity issues are best left to the parents and their presentation in school violates their parental and religious rights.

When parents form groups they’re more likely to be heard, and their numbers need not be large. The 3.5% rule refers to the claim that movements comprised of at least 3.5% of their population have never failed to bring about change.

Parents need to reclaim our schools from those activists who are imposing harmful agendas. Parent’s organizations use networking, investigative reporting and litigation to influence local, state and federal policies. They are fighting against classroom indoctrination in order to promote a healthy, non-ideological education for our nation’s children. I encourage the reader to seek out such organizations in their area and get involved.

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