The World and Everything in It: March 30, 2023

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like me. Hi, my name is Evie Holland and I’m a 2022 World Journalism Institute graduate working as a social media manager here in New Braunfels, Texas. The deadline to apply to this year’s fully-funded WJI college course is March 31st. So if you want to learn the tools of the trade go to WJI.world and start your application. I hope you enjoy today’s program.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning! The investigation into Monday’s massacre in Nashville continues. Our reporters on the ground listen to what people are saying.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Also a preview of Lawless season 2, finishing our investigation of the Terry Schiavo case.

DAVID GIBBS: And Bob was very much like, you know, David, do everything you can to save my girl. But he said, if they end up killing my daughter, will you help me make sure that everybody knows what happened?

And more families are educating their children without using public schools. World commentator Cal Thomas says it’s obvious why

REICHARD: It’s Thursday, March 30th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

BROWN: And I’m Myrna Brown. Good morning!

REICHARD: Time now for the news with Paul Butler.

PAUL BUTLER, NEWS ANCHOR: Kentucky Transgender Law » Republican Lawmakers in Kentucky have successfully reversed Democrat Governor Andy Beshear’s veto of a bill.

The reinstated bill bans gender transition surgeries and treatments for minors in the state.

It requires doctors to set a timeline for de-transitioning any minors they have already helped with a gender transition.

It also bans schools from instructing students of any age on the topics of gender identity or sexual orientation.

The bill would also allow teachers to disregard transgender childrens’ preferred pronouns and would require that schools mandate students use bathrooms that match their birth gender.

Suspect arrested » Police arrested a Wisconsin man earlier this week in connection with the May 8th, 2022 firebombing of a Madison pro-life office.

Law enforcement apprehended the 29-year old suspect at Boston Logan International Airport Tuesday—as he was attempting to use a one-way ticket to Guatemala City.

The man is accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail through the window of Wisconsin Family Action’s office ten months ago—after the Dobbs decision leak. When the incendiary device didn’t ignite properly, the suspect allegedly set another fire. His handwriting matches a slogan painted on one side of the building that said: “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either.”

During a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing last November, FBI director Christopher Wray assured Senators that the agency was doing all it could to address violence against pro-life groups:

CHRISTOPHER WRAY: My view plainly expressed to all of our people, including in the context of abortion related violence is that I don't care what side of the issue you're on, you don't get to engage in violence.

Investigators identified the suspect with DNA evidence from a discarded, partially eaten burrito. His DNA matched samples left at the crime scene. Police had been tracking his movements on security cameras since January. If convicted, he faces five to twenty years in prison.

Israel » 

SOUND: [Protests, chanting]

Protesters are still on the streets in Israel criticizing a proposed change to the country’s judicial system.

Even after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed the plan earlier this week to, in his words, “avoid a civil war” protests drew tens of thousands of people to the streets.

The plan would allow Israel’s parliament more control over the appointment of judges and allow it to overrule Supreme Court decisions.

Netanyahu spoke at the Summit for Democracy yesterday.

NETANYAHU- We currently have a robust public debate about proposed democratic reforms, but let me make it clear, we will always ensure a strong and independent judiciary.

Netanyahu is on trial for corruption and his critics say the overhaul plan is an attempt to keep himself in office.

U.S. President Joe Biden has said he hopes Netanyahu will walk away from the proposed changes. Netanyahu fired back that it is not the U-S President’s place to tell Israel how to make its own decisions. But he added that the partnership between the two nations is still strong.

Russia/U.S. relations » Russia says it will stop sharing missile test information with the U.S. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: Russia and the U-S had been sharing when test launches were held so that neither country mistook a test for an attack.

Meanwhile, Russia is conducting missile tests in Siberia… Those include trying to move mobile missile launchers through Siberia undetected by foreign satellites.

[SOUND: Missile being moved]

Last month, Russia suspended the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with the U-S. The treaty limited how many nuclear warheads the U-S and Russia could keep deployed.

Russia is testing its nuclear-capable missile, the Yars ICBM system.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Zelenskyy invites Xi » Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to Ukraine for a visit… roughly a week after Xi visited Moscow and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Chinese government has not confirmed whether a visit will take place.

MAO: [Speaking Chinese]

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning saying however that Chinese leaders are in communication with all sides of the conflict in Ukraine.

This is not the first time Zelenskyy has invited Xi to visit.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy says the battle for Bakhmut is continuing… And that he’s thankful for the Ukrainian troops holding out in the city.

FDA Narcan » The Food and Drug Administration approved over-the-counter sales of the overdose-reversal drug naloxone, or Narcan yesterday.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

JEAN-PIERRE: Naloxone can reverse overdoses caused by opioids, like fentanyl. It is a critical tool that has saved thousands of lives. And now, the FDA is making this life saving medicine more accessible to more people across the country.

Narcan is often used to treat opioid-related overdoses, including those from street drugs such as heroin, fentanyl, and oxycodone.

By late this summer, people will be able to buy Narcan without having to pay the full retail price or use an insurance co-pay.

Previously, every state allowed its sale without a prescription. But some patients said they didn’t want to get the drug from their pharmacy because they didn’t want their insurance company to find out. 

I’m Paul Butler. Straight ahead: a report from Nashville about how that community is responding to Monday’s tragic shooting. Plus, commentary from Cal Thomas.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

First up, the aftermath of a deadly school shooting in Nashville. Now a quick warning for parents…this is a heavy story, and while we won’t discuss any gratuitous details, we want you to be aware in case you have little ones around.

On Tuesday, Metro Nashville Police released security footage from the school’s lobby of Covenant Christian school. In it, the shooter, Audrey Hale, breaks through the locked glass doors by blasting her way in. The police also released body-cam footage from two officers who arrived on the scene just 11 minutes after the initial 9-1-1 call.

SOUND:  [OFFICER SAYING "LET'S GO"]

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Within two minutes of entering the building, police caught up with the shooter and confirmed she was dead after a brief exchange of gunshots. Authorities are still examining the shooter’s belongings for evidence of a motive. In the meantime, a friend of the shooter made public a series of messages she received from Hale just minutes before the shooting. In them, Hale confirms that she intended to die.

REICHARD: Authorities have not yet released the shooter’s manifesto or indicated what her motive was in carrying out the crime. But that hasn’t stopped leaders on Capitol Hill from drawing conclusions about what action they believe the country needs to take. Here’s President Joe Biden:

BIDEN: So I again, call on Congress to pass the assault weapons ban, pass it. It should not be a partisan issue. It's a common sense issue. We have to act now and people say, why do I keep saying this if we're not happening? Because I want you to know who isn't doing it.

BROWN: Meanwhile, Republicans like Missouri Senator Josh Hawley are concerned that the mass shooting was carried out against a Christian school.

HAWLEY: I have called on the director of the FBI and the Secretary of Homeland Security to open a federal investigation, a federal hate crime investigation into what happened in Nashville. And I call on this body, every member of this body to condemn in the clearest of terms, this hate crime against this community in Nashville. 

REICHARD: News that the biologically female shooter claimed a male identity and may have resented the Christian school has led to speculation and accusation from the right and the left.

But for now, Nashville is grieving…and WORLD Reporters Kim Henderson and Lauren Canterberry join us now from Nashville to talk about what they’ve seen on the ground. Ladies, good morning.

KIM HENDERSON: Good morning.

LAUREN CANTERBERRY: Good morning.

BROWN: Well Kim, let’s start with you. Can you tell us about the school where this shooting happened? Can you describe the property for us?

KIM HENDERSON, REPORTER: You know, the school shares property with the church. And it's a really unique setting. It's in the middle of this upper class community with all the shopping and restaurants you'd expect to find in Nashville. But the church is set on top of a hill with all these woods surrounding it and the steeple is poking out, you really can't see a whole lot else. But it's really magnificent. And as I was driving up the first time, and I saw this, I just couldn't get past the idea that it looked like a fortress, you know, looks really almost impenetrable. But of course it wasn't.

REICHARD: Hmm. Lauren, we know the names of the victims. But who were they as part of this community of teachers and students and church members?

LAUREN CANTERBERRY, REPORTER: Yeah, so the staff, I mean, the headmaster was one of those killed, unfortunately, along with a longtime custodian who was very respected in the community, and a substitute teacher who had taken the day to step in. As for the students, they attended different churches throughout the community, one of which was the daughter of the pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church there at the school. It's just been really heartbreaking to hear how many communities have been affected by this— not just the school itself, because these people belonged to different churches and congregations around the city. And their loss is being felt very heavily.

BROWN: Well, we do know the police responded swiftly, professionally, and effectively. Kim, you spoke with an electrician who’s worked in the Covenant Presbyterian buildings, and here’s what he had to say:

MAN: We got heroes. These are our heroes. I mean, if it wasn't for these people who had been so many more would have died. They are heroes, Metro’s heroes, and they got in there and you saw it. They went in there and got engaged right away. I think 13 minutes. And you can't you can't say nothing more than I mean, Chief Drake and his whole crew. They're awesome. I'm very proud of Chief Drake and his crew of officers. 

Kim, like many of us, I know you’ve seen that video of the police officers running towards shots fired, you are the wife of public servant who spent his entire career in law enforcement. Can you speak about what you saw from that perspective?

HENDERSON: Of course, that's a tough thing to watch. And you're trying to imagine what those gentlemen were thinking as they're going into that building. But I will tell you that the law enforcement officers in my family who've seen that video, say that it's spot on. That that was a fantastic response and everybody on the ground that I talked to, that is one common thread that went throughout their remarks was how pleased they are with the Metro Police response. And you, you hear also comparisons to Uvalde. And we're just so glad that things happened differently this time.

REICHARD: Lauren, I'll ask you: How has the community responded to this? Both the folks who are part of the Covenant school and the church family, as well as the people in Nashville more generally. What are they doing for the families?

CANTERBERRY: So I've spoken with a number of people who, even if they weren't directly impacted by the shooting, they they know someone who was a lot of families are gathering meals for people who've lost someone or who knows someone who lost someone. Several fundraisers have been set up for these families, both from within that church community and others around the area. And in terms of the city as a whole, I mean, there have been numerous vigils held both in churches and just in public spaces, towns around Nashville have gathered together to pray and to mourn together. It's really just, it's moving. How many people want to pray and want to offer support after something like this.

BROWN: Kim, has anyone from the school or church made any public comment on what happened or what’s next?

HENDERSON: Well, um, early on the church hired a PR for early on the church hired a PR firm to handle the media, which on the scene, it just has a really large presence across the street from the school insurance, it's just lines and lines and reporters and their, their entourage of equipment. It's, it's a big deal. So it's understandable that leadership in the church has had to take a really cautious and protective stance. I was on the scene yesterday, when damaged police cars were loaded and carried away from the property. And I could see bullet holes that were in at least one windshield. So it was a very observable, somber reminder of the violence that happened. And you know, at some point, the church and school returned to that space. And that's, that's a hard goal.

REICHARD: Lauren, some of the mainstream coverage of this situation has pointed out that because this was a private school, it didn’t have any police or resource officers on the grounds, so we hear renewed conversation about security. Have schools in the area made any observable changes in their security?

CANTERBERRY: Kim and I were chatting with people at the scene yesterday and one woman works at the senior health facility behind the school and said that within 24 hours after the shooting, they had installed new security gates into their drive and parking space. It's really incredible how quickly that was done. So it was clear that they felt it was very pressing that they get that done.

HENDERSON: And while we were there on the scene, yesterday, a group of schoolchildren came down the sidewalks walking from their facility, and they were placed signs along the road and other things expressing their love and support of covenant but I was able to spot I was able to speak with one of the moms and I asked her what she was talking about with her children Monday night. And we talked about the issue of evil. And she just made a very honest statement that she's learning how to explain this to her children one day at a time. One day at a time.

REICHARD: Some media reports emphasize this being the first mass shooting at a private Christian school. And as we heard earlier, Senator Josh Hawley has called on the Department of Justice to investigate what he called a hate crime against Christians. But President Biden waved that aside when asked about it. He said he didn’t know if it was a hate crime. And Attorney General Merrick Garland said that until a motive is identified, there’ll be no hate crime investigation. Lauren, did those Christians you spoke to express concerns that this killer targeted believers?

CANTERBERRY: No one I spoke with felt targeted. Another running theme that I heard from a lot of people is that this happens all too frequently. This is something that kids are having to learn about. They are seeing this happen around the country and now in their own neighborhood. Believers I spoke with we're less concerned about them personally and their community as Christians and more concerned about making sure that we talk to kids about this and that we take steps to preventing it whether that be some mentioned gun control, but more mentioned mental health care from what we know about the shooter herself. She was struggling with a lot of things and that was very complex. And most of our sources have said they wish there was more care for young people who are struggling with some of these really deep issues.

BROWN: One more question for you, Kim. Going into this taking this assignment, how did you prepare for what you were going to encounter?

HENDERSON: Well, you know, you read scripture, you pray, but I have the great blessing of years of faithful teaching of pastors into my life, on issues of real Christian living. And the Christian life is filled with suffering and questions about evil and its presence in our world. But I've been well taught and if I'm not equipped to deal with this, it will not be because I have not been well taught. It would be on my shoulders at that point. I'm thankful that, I'm thankful that as Christians, we can have certainty in the suffering.

REICHARD: That’s a good lesson to keep in mind. Kim Henderson is a senior writer for WORLD, and Lauren Canterberry is a member of WORLD’s Breaking News team. To see more of their coverage from Nashville, go to wng.org or click the link in today’s transcript.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: The NCAA final four basketball teams play this weekend to determine who's in the final championship game. And while March Madness has gotten most of the headlines...for one family in Toledo, Ohio, they're still basking in a recent high school matchup with a lot less on the line.

SOUND: [SUBSTITUTION/GAME]

In the final minutes of the Senior Night game between Toledo Christian and Fayette Local High School three Mickel brothers were already on the court—including senior Ezekiel. Then, with about a minute and a half to play...up by 28 points...the coach made a couple substitutions…sending two more Mickels into the game. Meaning all five players on the court were from the same family.

Silas is a sophomore. He spoke with WTOL TV.

Silas Mickel: So I knew it was gonna be cool when they said it. But like, once I actually got on all day, like, it was just super cool.

The brothers come from a family of seven kids, ranging from 12 to 18. Pick-up games are common around the Mickel home and the brothers say the competition can get kind of intense. So to get to play together...well, that was a new experience...here’s Malachi…a junior:

Malachi Mickel: It was really cool because, you know, we've always played at the Y together, but we've never been on like the same team on the floor together, especially on varsity. So that was really fun.

The final score was 63 to 36. So, not a close game, but sounds like the experience did bring these five brothers closer together.

BROWN: A heartwarming story, very much needed.

SOUND: [END OF GAME]

REICHARD: It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, March 30th.

You’re listening to WORLD Radio. We’re so glad you are! Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Lawless, Season Two.

Tomorrow marks eighteen years since the death of Terri Schiavo. You may remember her story as a bitter legal battle over a brain damaged young woman’s right to live or right to die. If you listened to Season One of Lawless, you heard the start of this story. But only the start.

REICHARD: On one side, a husband who says he’s trying to fulfill his wife’s wishes. His attorney champions law and reason, but also claims to commune with a higher power through his own spiritual awakening.

On the other side, a family who wants to save their daughter. Backing them: a host of supporters, including civil rights attorneys, doctors, and disability groups, also activists willing to do just about anything to keep Terri alive. Legally or otherwise.

MYRNA: In Season Two, we’re finishing our deep-dive into Terri’s story. You’ll hear from WORLD Magazine executive editor Lynn Vincent and WORLD Radio features editor Anna Johansen Brown. Here’s a preview

LYNN VINCENT: It’s October 15th, 2003. The Schindler family is fighting through a thicket of media mics and cameras. Reporters walk backwards in front of them, shoving mics in the Schindlers’ faces, shouting questions.

They want to know how Terri Schiavo’s family scored a meeting with the governor of Florida, Jeb Bush.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN: The Schiavo case is rolling towards its 11th year, and tempers show no signs of cooling down. Each side is fighting hard.

FELOS: The level of acrimony, hurled at Mr. Schiavo, I mean, he's been called a murderer, a wife abuser.

MIKE TOMARRO: I don't think he wants her to ever be able to speak again. I think he might be afraid of what she might say.

ANNA: Michael Schiavo believes his wife, Terri, would never want to live like this: Severely brain injured, dependent on a feeding tube for food and water. He wants to remove her feeding tube and let her die.

Terri’s family says they don’t care that she can’t speak or walk. They just want to take care of their daughter.

BRODERSEN: You know, this was still all life and death. And Michael was clearly in their mind, I assume, the prince of darkness, and trust for the judicial process was kind of at an all time low. And everybody was deep in trauma.

LYNN: But Michael keeps winning in court. A judge has ruled that Terri’s feeding tube will come out again. The Schindlers keep appealing, but they’re constantly terrified that their efforts won’t be enough. That’s why they pile into a Toyota forerunner and speed from Pinellas Park, Florida, to Plant City for a hastily arranged meeting with the governor.

After a few minutes of awkward small talk, Terri’s sister Suzanne Schindler breaks in with a question. Terri’s mother Mary remembers the moment vividly.

MARY: She was so serious. And she said, “Governor Bush, can I ask you a question?” He said, “Sure.” She says, “Don’t you know, anybody, anybody in office that could help you? You know, or help us?”...But everybody started laughing. Even Governor Bush, I mean, he said, he says I think I do you know…She didn’t even realize what she said. It was his brother that was president of the United States! And he just and he said, “I think I'll try to do something Suzanne,” you know, and he was just he was so nice.

LYNN: Nice. But the governor doesn’t promise any specific course of action. The truth is, he doesn’t know what else he can legally do.

The case has been caught in a loop of judicial rulings, appeals, and last-minute interventions. It feels like a black hole never ending. No way out.

ANNA: Back in April of 2001, the Schindlers’ attorneys thought they might have struck gold.

SHOOK: I was the first girl Michael Schiavo dated.

ANNA: One of Michael’s old girlfriends, Cyndi Shook, steps forward with what could be new evidence. Cyndi says that Michael isn’t who he appears to be.

In a deposition, she tells the Schindlers’ lawyers that she’s afraid of Michael. After they broke up, she kept seeing him…following her in traffic. It went on for months, even when she tried to lose him.

CYNDI: [ACTOR] One time when he was behind me in traffic, he got next to me in a—on a two-lane going the same way.

ANNA: That’s not Cyndi’s real voice, but those are her words, verbatim from a deposition transcript.

CYNDI: [ACTOR] and he changed lanes basically right on top of where I was at, and I had to swerve not to be hit. I had to swerve off the road.

The deposition isn’t enough evidence on its own. But the Schindlers’ attorneys are also collecting evidence from doctors about Terri’s condition.

CRANFORD: Look over here, Terri. Terri there you go. Can you follow that Terri? There you go.

LYNN: In October of 2002, five doctors present testimony to the court. They’ve each examined Terri and come to their own conclusions about her condition, and how much brain function she really has. One doctor, William Hammesfahr, testifies that Terri has a very stiff neck, maybe a spinal cord injury, too.

He tells the court he’s only ever felt a neck like that once before: In an attempted strangulation case. That testimony shocks the court and the Schindlers. Suddenly, all their fears about Michael grow even darker. Had he been behind Terri’s brain damage all those years ago?

When Michael’s friend and former boss, Dan Greico, hears about the allegations, he’s furious.

GRIECO: I was livid. I was livid because that was fake. There was no way that Michael abused her in any way. Just absolutely no way.

ANNA: As the case grinds on, the Schindlers keep ramping up their publicity. Any way they can get the word out to as many people as possible, get public opinion on their side, recruit allies anywhere and everywhere. And it seems like it’s working. The governor is involved. US legislators are taking notice. Even the Pope is giving speeches full of indirect references to Terri’s case.

But in the spring of 2005, it seems like even that firestorm of attention might be too little, too late.

MARY: Every morning that I woke up, I said, “God, nobody’s going to take a disabled person’s feeding tube away and kill her.”

But On March 18, by order of the court, Terri’s feeding tube is removed for a third time.

ANNA: The Schindlers feel that the judicial system has failed them. What if there aren’t any other rabbits to pull out of this hat?

DAVID GIBBS: Everybody had pretty much said it was done. And he was like, Is there anything that you can do?

LYNN: That’s attorney David Gibbs. In 2003, Bob Schindler had come to him as a last-ditch legal effort.

GIBBS: And I said, Well, we’ll look at it looks really tough from a legal perspective. And, and Bob was very much like, you know, David, do everything you can to save my girl. But he said, if they end up killing my daughter, will you help me make sure that everybody knows what happened?

LYNN: Now, in 2005, Gibbs knows that the courts are a dead end. The Schindlers have exhausted every legal option. But maybe, just maybe, legislation might work.

On Palm Sunday, members of the US Congress debate a bill meant to keep Terri alive at least long enough to review her case from the beginning. But bill has a number of holdouts.

WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ: We make laws, and we uphold the law, and we swore to protect the Constitution. And we are thumbing our nose at the Constitution if this goes forward.

LYNN: When it comes to a vote, though, surprising allies join the Schindlers’ cause: Prominent liberal lawmakers like Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton. The bill passes. But will it be enough to save Terri? It still needs a judge to give one last green light.

ANNA: Meanwhile, Terri is starving. And the dehydration is worse. Bobby Schindler describes how hard it is to see Terri fading.

BOBBY: The sunken eyes, her teeth, her teeth were protruding because her face was shrinking. Because it was, it was getting so dehydrated. Her eyes started bleeding. Her lips were terribly chapped, her skin started to chap. It started turning different shades like it was. I remember being yellowish or bluish, her skin.

MUSIC

ANNA: It’s Holy Week, the days leading up to Easter. The celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection.

On March 30th, 2005, Terri enters her 12th day without food or water. Terri’s brother in law, Michael Vitadamo, remembers thinking…there’s still hope.

VITADAMO: You know, they've reinserted it before. So, you know, hang in there, girl, you know, you're going to be okay. Terri, you know, we're trying to help you I can remember Bob saying: “We’re helping you Terri. We’re here.” She just started to decline. It was pretty quick.

REICHARD: Lawless Season 2 will drop on May 4th. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, March 30th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Parents’ Bill of Rights intended to reform American public schools. That follows states like Florida that have also sought to give parents more control.

WORLD Commentator Cal Thomas looks at the culture war behind these efforts, and how wise families can respond.

CAL THOMAS, COMMENTATOR: The president of the American Federation of Teachers union, Randi Weingarten, spoke recently at the National Press Club in Washington. Weingarten railed against what she described as existential threats from extremist culture war-peddling politicians. She claimed the far right is trying to dismantle public schools, which are attended by 90% of children.

Kids aren't learning, at least not as well as when older Americans were in school. Our children have fallen behind many other countries in basic skills and not entirely because of closed schools during COVID. Who's responsible for the so-called culture wars? It isn't traditional and Christian Americans, they've been told to shut up as books that seek to normalize behavior and relationships God calls abominations are snuck into libraries and taught in classrooms, often without parental knowledge or consent.

This is a major reason the school choice movement and homeschooling are rapidly growing. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just signed into law a measure that will allow virtually any child in the state to attend whatever school he or she wants, public or private, with the goal being a good education, not fulfilling some secular progressive objective of diversity, inclusion and equity. Competition works in nearly every other area of life.

When public schools were not seen as the enemy of traditional values, when the American flag was saluted and the Pledge of Allegiance recited, when the Bible and its contents were not considered contraband, public schools functioned well. Increasingly they're becoming the enemy of those values, as reflected in a recent Wall Street Journal poll, which found especially young people no longer support the values including religious values and hard work that once defined America. We don't send members of our military to be trained in countries hostile to our beliefs. Why do we send so many of our children into schools that are increasingly hostile to our values?

COVID helped parents see what was being taught in their child's public school. Many reacted by pulling them out and sending them to private schools or homeschooling them.

Evil seems to be expanding in our nation and the world. No one is completely safe anywhere these days. But parents can take steps to better ensure the safety of their children. And schools can increase security to a level where people like the Nashville shooter might be deterred from carrying out their evil acts.

I'm Cal Thomas.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Tomorrow on Culture Friday, author Katie McCoy talks about the confusion over female identity. Plus, your listener feedback!

That and more tomorrow. I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. 

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Pharisee Gamaliel warned the Saducees to leave the apostles alone. The Bible says….”they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. Acts chapter 5, verses 40 through 42

Go now in grace and peace.

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