Transnational Elites Choose Tinker Bell Over Christ in Teaching Civic Values
ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH, SUSTAINABILITY, HUMAN RIGHTS, LAW & JUSTICE, SOCIETY & CULTURE
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Just one week after the United Nations appointed the Disney character Tinker Bell to serve as its “Honorary Ambassador of Green” to indoctrinate school children in the religion of environmental extremism and climate change, the European Court of Human Rights decided that the display of the crucifix in Italy’s state-run schools violates the right of parents to educate their children in line with their convictions and the right of children to freedom of religion. Thus, transnational progressives have taken one more step toward their goal of replacing Christian moral values as a vehicle for teaching democratic ethics with a UN human rights catechism that is also a form of religion.
The appointment of Tinker Bell took place just prior to a screening at UN Headquarters in New York of the world premiere of the Walt Disney animated film, “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure.” Protecting the environment is an underlying theme of the Tinker Bell movies, according to the UN Department of Public Information (DPI).
“We're delighted Tinker Bell has agreed to be our Honorary Ambassador of Green,” said Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information. “This beloved animated character can help us inspire kids and their parents to nurture nature and do what they can to take care of the environment.”
According to a UN Press Release, the event was intended to promote environmental awareness in the lead-up to the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen in December, where countries will aim to “seal the deal” on a new global agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Last week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon discussed climate change with a group of children in Seattle, Washington. He stressed the fact that one is never too young to make a difference and contribute to a cleaner and greener world.
The UN-Tinker Bell partnership is a part of the UN Secretary-General’s Creative Community Outreach Initiative. The Initiative acts as a liaison between the UN and producers, directors, writers and new media professionals seeking a working relationship with the UN with the goal of raising awareness of critical global issues.
One week after UN officials crowned Tinker Bell the Honorary Ambassador of Green, seven judges at the European Court of Human Rights decided that it was time to remove Jesus Christ as a visible classroom symbol to Italian schoolchildren of love, charity, tolerance, self-sacrifice, and other personal virtues that have served as the cornerstone of western civic life for centuries. It appears that transnational progressives view Disney characters, not Christ, as the best vehicle for “raising awareness of critical global issues,” such as poverty, youth violence, environmental stewardship, substance abuse, moral relativity, sex trafficking, and the breakdown of the family unit.
Although Tinker Bell and her other Disney friends are free to preach in classrooms around the world what this commentator has named the “Catechism of the Church of the United Nations,” in the opinion of the Court, “The presence of the crucifix ... could easily be interpreted by pupils of all ages as a religious sign and they would feel that they were being educated in a school environment bearing the stamp of a given religion.” The Court was specifically concerned about the potential coercive effect of imposing beliefs on schoolchildren who are dependent on the public education system, where “the aim should be to foster critical thinking in pupils.”
The Italian Government has indicated that it will appeal the decision to the European Court of Human Right’s Grand Chamber.
The coincidental convergence of these two events presents an opportunity for a thorough examination of the degree to which parents should be provided with public funds to educate their children in accordance with the dictates of their consciences at the public or private schools of their choice. This commentator initiated this examination in an article titled “Human Rights Education, Religion, and Parental Choice in Education.” Ultimately, consistent with the Court’s decision, parents who desire to educate their children for civic life and global solidarity in accordance with the non-violent moral teachings of traditional religions of their choice must receive public funds which they can uses to escape the human rights orthodoxy spread by the United Nations and their cast of Disney characters.
Jim Kelly serves as Director of International Affairs for the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies and as Co-Director of Global Governance Watch. The opinions expressed herein are his own.
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