We’ve listened to the first GOP Debate. There were ups and downs. Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum did a decent job of what seemed like herding cats at times.

There was a lot of shouting and booing. DeSantis started off with a bang, Tim Scott seems like too nice for this crowd and Vivek Ramaswamy and Mike Pence were at each other’s throats for most the time.

When Martha and Bret finally brought the crowd on stage to order and had a chat with the audience about the productivity of their cheers and jeers.Unfortunately, too many participants on stage talking over one another led to to major fatigue but all candidates seemed to hone in and actually focus, without arguing with one another, on the topic of education.

Right out the gate, Ron DeSantis said American students needed education and not indoctrination. He talked about his record in Florida and how the state kept the schools open while many blue states were shut down for a year or more. He brought up the focus of solid academics, civics and the study of the Constitution. He encouraged foundation and that we cannot be graduating students without this foundation.

Vivek Ramaswamy also had some solid points on this matter to include ending teachers’ unions and encouraging school choice, placing the freedom and decisions back on the families. He stressed the importance of families in advocating for their child’s education; in being innovative in the approach to education and cutting through the bureaucratic red tape.

Doug Burgum mentioned that there should not be a “one size fits all” formula for education in our nation. He also pointed out that not all teachers were indoctrinating, which is true. Some teachers may just want to get back to the basics of teaching kids. But, they are stifled by red tape and agendas brought forth by school districts, unions and additional pressures from their administrators and peers. Burgum had valid argument but we’re not sure this is one that will bring him to the stage next time. We shall see.

Nikki Haley argued for getting the kids reading. I know, imagine that? She also argued for having transparency in the classroom. Parents should know what their children are learning about in the classroom. Haley also emphasized the importance of vocational classes in schools.

I honestly hoped to hear more about education but we went on to the “lightning round”, where Chris Christie was asked about UFOs. Now, I’m not a Chris Christie fan but I must admit, one of the best lines of the night was when he circled back from UFOs to education and teachers’ unions:

That is the greatest threat to the United States, not UFOs.”-Chris Christie

Yes. They’re coming for your children.

If you’re wondering why your third grader cannot read, may I remind you that a few years back, when your (now) third grader was in first grade, he or she was sitting in front of a computer because their teachers and their teachers’ unions encouraged lock downs and kept the schools closed. They stood outside of schools with fake gravestones and coffins. Don’t think they won’t do this again with Joe Biden and the Democrats at the helm and an increase in COVID cases. We have students graduating high school who have not taken a civics class or who cannot write their first and last names legibly on important documents. We have educators, curriculum officers, institutions of public education in our states, prioritizing identity and politics over the nuts and bolts of education in this country.

Our enemies are laughing at us.

Call it my lack of bandwidth as a result of a long day at work. I really hoped for more fire from the hopefuls on stage and less bickering. I will say this. An uneducated society is a vulnerable one. China knows this. Russia knows this. An uneducated society is also a depressed one; down on their luck. For those looking to medicate to remedy their hard luck, the drug dealers coming across our porous borders know this. For those needing “help”, the Democrats also know this and will use handouts to leverage control of the population. An uneducated society makes for a stagnant marketplace, which leads to a stagnant economy, which also gives other countries, (like China), the advantage. With a bunch of young adults graduating college with useless degrees like “Gender Studies” and children being unable to master basic reading, math, elements of pure science and basic biology, critical thinking, logic and common sense, what does our future really look like?

I really hope the next debates focus more on some of these serious issues instead of the bickering and the flexing. And education of our children IS a serious issue. Our kids deserve better. We deserve better. Hey, we’re at rock bottom with Basement Biden now, so there’s only one way to go, right?

There’s still hope.