Peachy - you should have moved to a red state in 2020! Our child's 8th grade public school civics teacher played a video from CNN in class and all the students started chanting "Fake News!".
Great post. Our son recently graduated from St. Thomas here in communist-run Minny. It was during the Scamdemic and this notoriously republican, private school was co-opted by a handful of Leftists...
A communist opened the graduation commencement speech with "We are on stolen land..."
In glorious fashion several of us fathers in the audience shouted "Shut up! They stole it from others."
Peachy, I really feel for you! We sent our three girls to a very conservative, Catholic, college-prep school. Two of them went to Catholic universities. We found out too late that one was "Catholic in name only", aka Jesuit. The other went to a UC school up north. They have all graduated and moved on now: the Jesuit-educated daughter is secular and non-practicing; the other two still attend mass on Sundays. I have come to the conclusion that the main difference is friends: if the friends are observant, the kid will go along. Same if they're not. I will definitely pray for your children, and everyone sending their child to college this year. Also check out the book by an amazing young woman, Aurora Griffin: "How I Stayed Catholic at Harvard." She fought off Satanists attempting to hold a satanic mass just off Harvard's campus. Sounds like your son would be eager for such a fight. Good luck & God bless.
Love seeing Aurora’s name. I am friends with her parents. I sent my daughter to a “Catholic” all girls school and she faced the mob as described. I spoke up loudly in disagreement to school administrators and board members. I also presented much of what I understood happening to my parish priest. It was a very difficult time and one that took me by surprise. We too were one of the few who attended weekly mass, etc. Let’s just say she is now at a conservative college with like minded kids. It has been wonderful. Agree about prayer. Looking back I wish I had done that more than anything in time of distress.
As a fellow Angeleno whose children are returning to school, I hear you. I look at my 5th and 7th graders and think that I only have two more precious years before my oldest is off to high school to fight the real battle. Your son's words are beautiful. May God continue to guide each of our children in this wacky state that we call home.
One thing I've noted about Crazy California is that, in recent years, the sensible people who have remained here and have been fighting the nonsense --- whether religious or political, or both ---- are much more seasoned, savvy, and tough than the average citizen is in other better-run states. The citizenry in those places seems to be much more naive and thus ripe for the picking; AKA, infiltration and overwhelm by leftists and those who reject God.
It sounds from your description as though your kids --- all of them --- are going to be A-OK. In addition to the fine and upright rearing they have received, it seems unavoidable for them to have missed being seasoned-by-osmosis --- just enough to benefit them --- by our CA rough-and-tumble wackiness.
Best of everything to you and your wonderful family, Peachy.
You will be surprised. There are more kids like yours than you let on in this article. You have built a strong foundation and it works. We are on our third child about to finish college. All threes faith has never visibly weakened. In fact the 2 that are married have converted their spouses to Catholicism and properly waited for marriage, as is the third per his report (🙏). It isn’t easy but a strong foundation is massive. Keep praying and believing. They are going to be fine. Let them now be the influencers! God bless.
My children all went to nonCatholic private high schools after Catholic elementary, unlike most of their peers who went to Catholic ones. As young adults they, unlike most of their peers who went to Catholic high schools, all still go to mass on Sunday and try to live up to the tenets of their faith. I think they got used to being the odd balls. We did make sure they served the church in various capacities, as altar servers and lectors, during their teen years.
They weren’t perfect; there was some straying— but all came back. Sometimes it helps to be tested a bit.
You can no longer assume that a university with a putative Christian orientation or affiliation is actually orthodox in its offerings. There may be a handful, but that's it. Same applies to seminaries. The WOKE rot is everywhere.
This hit close to home…my kids are starting public school this year (we tried 2 Catholic schools and they’re just not cut out for it) and I worry so much that they’re going to get stupid ideas, make friends with the wrong people (we are not in the best school pyramid, and we are in one of the most leftist districts on Earth). I just had a discussion with my daughter on the surveillance state on our walk to school after she explained their bathroom pass request procedure (they have to log into their school-issued laptop and go into an app to ask the teacher—I’m like, what?) I feel like Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried” is my theme song.
Like you, Peachy, I worry how my kids will do when the go out and face the world on their own. My daughter is starting her Sophomore year at a non catholic university and she is doing well scholastically but her spiritual life is struggling and my son is starting his senior year in a catholic high school which should be fine for him.
I put both kids through parochial schools since kindergarten but nothing guarantees that their faith will survive immersion in today’s heathen world.
Sometimes sending kids to blatantly secular schools is almost better than "CINO" schools, but awareness of one's surroundings is more than half the battle. I'm sure your kids will be fine if your family is solid! Cheers to a good year! :)
No Peachy, I can't offer much advice. But Paul can: "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39
I’ve spent many years in this situation and my honest would advice would be to avoid it. I was raised evangelical in California and went to a UC and work at Fortune 500 company.
There is no getting through to most people or avoiding unprovoked abuse, I wish I went to a conservative college and hope to work for a non-woke company.
Life is short, the environment you put yourself in really matters, it’s not good to be a lost sheep in a pack of wolves. You understand on a visceral level why almost all groups of humans are tribal and prefer to be surrounded by those like themselves.
Peachy - you should have moved to a red state in 2020! Our child's 8th grade public school civics teacher played a video from CNN in class and all the students started chanting "Fake News!".
Great post. Our son recently graduated from St. Thomas here in communist-run Minny. It was during the Scamdemic and this notoriously republican, private school was co-opted by a handful of Leftists...
A communist opened the graduation commencement speech with "We are on stolen land..."
In glorious fashion several of us fathers in the audience shouted "Shut up! They stole it from others."
Peachy, I really feel for you! We sent our three girls to a very conservative, Catholic, college-prep school. Two of them went to Catholic universities. We found out too late that one was "Catholic in name only", aka Jesuit. The other went to a UC school up north. They have all graduated and moved on now: the Jesuit-educated daughter is secular and non-practicing; the other two still attend mass on Sundays. I have come to the conclusion that the main difference is friends: if the friends are observant, the kid will go along. Same if they're not. I will definitely pray for your children, and everyone sending their child to college this year. Also check out the book by an amazing young woman, Aurora Griffin: "How I Stayed Catholic at Harvard." She fought off Satanists attempting to hold a satanic mass just off Harvard's campus. Sounds like your son would be eager for such a fight. Good luck & God bless.
Love seeing Aurora’s name. I am friends with her parents. I sent my daughter to a “Catholic” all girls school and she faced the mob as described. I spoke up loudly in disagreement to school administrators and board members. I also presented much of what I understood happening to my parish priest. It was a very difficult time and one that took me by surprise. We too were one of the few who attended weekly mass, etc. Let’s just say she is now at a conservative college with like minded kids. It has been wonderful. Agree about prayer. Looking back I wish I had done that more than anything in time of distress.
I loved that book; just wish I had read it sooner. Aurora is one year older than my oldest girls.
As a fellow Angeleno whose children are returning to school, I hear you. I look at my 5th and 7th graders and think that I only have two more precious years before my oldest is off to high school to fight the real battle. Your son's words are beautiful. May God continue to guide each of our children in this wacky state that we call home.
One thing I've noted about Crazy California is that, in recent years, the sensible people who have remained here and have been fighting the nonsense --- whether religious or political, or both ---- are much more seasoned, savvy, and tough than the average citizen is in other better-run states. The citizenry in those places seems to be much more naive and thus ripe for the picking; AKA, infiltration and overwhelm by leftists and those who reject God.
It sounds from your description as though your kids --- all of them --- are going to be A-OK. In addition to the fine and upright rearing they have received, it seems unavoidable for them to have missed being seasoned-by-osmosis --- just enough to benefit them --- by our CA rough-and-tumble wackiness.
Best of everything to you and your wonderful family, Peachy.
You will be surprised. There are more kids like yours than you let on in this article. You have built a strong foundation and it works. We are on our third child about to finish college. All threes faith has never visibly weakened. In fact the 2 that are married have converted their spouses to Catholicism and properly waited for marriage, as is the third per his report (🙏). It isn’t easy but a strong foundation is massive. Keep praying and believing. They are going to be fine. Let them now be the influencers! God bless.
I was a kid like yours over 25 years ago! It’s a gauntlet for sure but I was raised to know I was an outsider. Prayers for you all.
Send your kids to Texas A&M
What a beautiful thing for your son to say. God bless our children.
My children all went to nonCatholic private high schools after Catholic elementary, unlike most of their peers who went to Catholic ones. As young adults they, unlike most of their peers who went to Catholic high schools, all still go to mass on Sunday and try to live up to the tenets of their faith. I think they got used to being the odd balls. We did make sure they served the church in various capacities, as altar servers and lectors, during their teen years.
They weren’t perfect; there was some straying— but all came back. Sometimes it helps to be tested a bit.
This was beautiful.
You can no longer assume that a university with a putative Christian orientation or affiliation is actually orthodox in its offerings. There may be a handful, but that's it. Same applies to seminaries. The WOKE rot is everywhere.
See this: https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/joy-reid-said-the-quiet-part-out-loud-and-its-ugly?utm_source=theblaze-breaking&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morning%20Trending%20-%20August%2021&utm_term=ACTIVE%20LIST%20-%20TheBlaze%20Breaking%20News&tpcc=email-breaking
This hit close to home…my kids are starting public school this year (we tried 2 Catholic schools and they’re just not cut out for it) and I worry so much that they’re going to get stupid ideas, make friends with the wrong people (we are not in the best school pyramid, and we are in one of the most leftist districts on Earth). I just had a discussion with my daughter on the surveillance state on our walk to school after she explained their bathroom pass request procedure (they have to log into their school-issued laptop and go into an app to ask the teacher—I’m like, what?) I feel like Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried” is my theme song.
Like you, Peachy, I worry how my kids will do when the go out and face the world on their own. My daughter is starting her Sophomore year at a non catholic university and she is doing well scholastically but her spiritual life is struggling and my son is starting his senior year in a catholic high school which should be fine for him.
I put both kids through parochial schools since kindergarten but nothing guarantees that their faith will survive immersion in today’s heathen world.
All we can do is pray for them.
Sometimes sending kids to blatantly secular schools is almost better than "CINO" schools, but awareness of one's surroundings is more than half the battle. I'm sure your kids will be fine if your family is solid! Cheers to a good year! :)
No Peachy, I can't offer much advice. But Paul can: "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39
I’ve spent many years in this situation and my honest would advice would be to avoid it. I was raised evangelical in California and went to a UC and work at Fortune 500 company.
There is no getting through to most people or avoiding unprovoked abuse, I wish I went to a conservative college and hope to work for a non-woke company.
Life is short, the environment you put yourself in really matters, it’s not good to be a lost sheep in a pack of wolves. You understand on a visceral level why almost all groups of humans are tribal and prefer to be surrounded by those like themselves.