“You know they went after King when he spoke out on Vietnam/
He turned the power to the have-nots
and then came the shot”
-Rage Against the Machine, “Wake Up”
Rage and my father planted the seeds for my unschooling journey. Those high school years were where I started to turn away from the ways of this world and seek my own path.
My father told me I’d be an N-word as long as I was dependent on the system. As a sensitive teen, it was hard for me to hear, much less understand. Rage Against the Machine said much the same, but with a religious ferocity that I felt in my soul.
I’m not the only kid who felt the Holy Spirit move me in a mosh pit. Those were religious gatherings, whether we admitted it or not. For all the anti-religious fervor I heard from metal stages in the 90s, those experiences opened my mind to power that was beyond the physical. Music in itself is a mystery of connection that runs deeper than our understanding of it.
Hearing this verse tonight as I shared The Matrix with my sons for the first time, I was inspired by the memory of my rebel self being encouraged by lyrics I often disagreed with. Even Rage can’t seem to get it right as they lionize a deeply conservative religious leader such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
But the second line is what has both lifted me in recent years and yet, weighs on me, “He turned the power to the have-nots / and then came the shot.”
Unschooling turns the power to the have-nots. It’s been my greatest honor to get out of the way of these amazing humans growing before me.
We’re in an amazing age of educational discovery. As optimistic and outspoken as I am about the learning lifestyle, I never imagined a flood into homeschooling such as we’re seeing now. It is wonderous to see so many families discovering the joys and it is heartbreaking to witness the inevitable turmoil as educational paradigms shift.
And then came the shot.
There is danger in empowering the have-nots. Politicians, bureaucrats, and those who profit from their systems do not want their power diluted by free minds. People are learning that they do not need the government to educate their children. As I went through this exact realization, I asked myself, “What else can regular people do without government?” This dangerous question is never asked in school, but millions of families may be asking it right now.
There is no Federal legislation on homeschooling and in states like Delaware, parents are left without burdensome regulations when it comes to educating their own. It’s not easy, but there is freedom in that. The diversity (of all sorts) in the home education community is a testament to how people from all walks of life can work together without being forced to do so.
I’m here to sing the praises of that freedom and defend it. I’m here to honor the homeschool community and cheerlead as it grows. I pray to God that He will give me the strength and the voice to turn the power to the have-nots.
God bless, I appreciate and thank you,
Jason