One has to listen to Jeannie C Riley’s 1968 Harper Valley PTA to get the essence of what this MAGA movement is doing to our education system. Jeannie C said it best:

Harper Valley P.T.A.

Song by Tom T. Hall, made popular by Jeannie C. Riley

I wanna tell you all the story ’bout a Harper Valley widowed wife
Who had a teenage daughter who attended Harper Valley Junior High
Well, her daughter came home one afternoon and didn’t even stop to play
And she said, “Mom, I got a note here from the Harper Valley P.T.A.”

Well, the note said, “Mrs. Johnson, you’re wearin’ your dresses way too high
It’s reported you’ve been drinkin’ and a-runnin’ round with men and goin’ wild
And we don’t believe you oughta be a-bringin’ up your little girl this way”
And it was signed by the secretary, Harper Valley P.T.A.

Well, it happened that the P.T.A was gonna meet that very afternoon
And they were sure surprised when Mrs. Johnson wore her miniskirt into the room
And as she walked up to the blackboard, I can still recall the words she had to say
She said, “I’d like to address this meeting of the Harper Valley P.T.A.”

Well, there’s Bobby Taylor sittin’ there and seven times he’s asked me for a date
And Mrs. Taylor sure seems to use a lotta ice whenever he’s away
And Mr. Baker, can you tell us why your secretary had to leave this town?
And shouldn’t widow Jones be told to keep her window shades all pulled completely down

Well, Mr. Harper couldn’t be here ’cause he stayed too long at Kelly’s Bar again
And if you’ll smell Shirley Thompson’s breath, you’ll find she’s had a little nip of gin
And then you have the nerve to tell me you think that as a mother I’m not fit
Well, this is just a little Peyton Place and you’re all Harper Valley hypocrites!

No, I wouldn’t put you on because it really did
It happened just this way
The day my mama socked it to the Harper Valley P.T.A.
The day my mama socked it to the Harper Valley P.T.A.

What we have now across most of our nation is a trip back to those glorious days of the Dark Ages when religious fanatics ruled. First it was that glorious Tea Party of less than 20 years ago when the zealots stole the banner of the original Tea Party of colonists who fought the unfair tax system of the King of England. These so called ‘ Freedom and Liberty’ crazies decided that the public schools and their libraries were run by Marxists and pagans. These, in their words, phony educators and librarians wanted to brainwash our children, turning many of them from boys to girls, along with gay couples adopting and destroying the cherished ‘Family Unit’. If Jeannie C. was around at today’s current PTA, Parents Associations and school board meetings, boy would she sock it to em!

There are many scandals involving prominent ( so called ) leaders of our citizenry. Yet, the utter hypocrisy is when we find Christian evangelist ministers in the mix. Ted Haggard and Jimmy Swaggart ruled their religious domains for decades forever preaching about the various sins like homosexuality, drug addiction and prostitution. When Haggard and Swaggart fell from grace, the magic word hypocrite shouts loudly. Yet, the real sin is when right wing Christians go much further than that. Now we have school boards and PTAs and Parents Associations that work to dismiss the teaching of slavery as much as possible. Can you imagine anyone calling his or herself a moral American wishing to withhold young students from learning what was done to Blacks through the system of slavery? When they teach in their bible study of how the Jews ( in the Old Testament, their choice of testaments) were enslaved by the pagan Egyptians and Romans, that was vital for the young to know. Yet, when their Christian, in some cases, ancestors held the whip and chain that is a No No. God Bless America!

Do yourself a favor and read the lyrics to Jeannie C’s song. This is Americana at its best folks.

PA Farruggio
July, 2024