What a cynical view you have.
Sometimes reality isn't what we wish it to be.
Your assumption that I am religious. ( We have had this discussion before ) is not correct.
My apologies if I am confusing you with someone else, but didn't you proclaim a belief in god?
I have found that if you focus on the negatives hard enough you WILL find what your looking for, but at the cost of ignoring the positive.
So if someone brings you flowers then burns you home down, you'll focus on the flowers? Most of these platitudes are just regurgitated nonsense.
I focus on reality, facts, and science.. I'll even include statistics and past performance when needed.. but I don't partake in wishful thinking and I generally ignore the colorful brochures.
I find some entrusting parallels with regards to the federally controlled education system and your point of view about religion.
I was worried about the educational system as well. I live just outside a small rural town with two gas stations and just about everyone thinks the magical invisible sky fairy is real. We have two gas stations and like 5 churches.. hardcore conservatives, most of them on food stamps and barely intelligent enough to tie their own shoelaces.
I was pretty worried about our grade schools being sort of quasi-religious indoctrination centers in such a small town.. My wife and I kept a close eye on what they were teaching and listened closely to our child's comments and descriptions.
They don't seem to be teaching anything political.. just the basics of math, reading, science, etc.
The conservative "powers that be" are very upset we have removed religion from the schools.. and so they have created a campaign to attack the schools. It's a pretty basic strategy.. if you don't agree with how something is built, do your best to tear it down.
That's not to suggest every school is devoid of political ideology or trying to 'sneak one over the line".. but those are the exceptions, not the rule.. and there are always exceptions on both sides. It's what we do about them that counts.
My only complaint about the schools is that they seem to be slowing down to accommodate the dumbest kid.. The pace of learning isn't a set standard, but a sort of throttled pace that allows the inbreed moron with alcoholic pot smoking drugged out parents to keep up with the homework.
But as far as indoctrinating or pushing a political agenda.. Nope.. not seeing it in either direction.
The problem with our children isn't the schools, its the parents.. but the parents are not willing or capable of admitting such things to themselves.. that isn't going to happen.. ever. So they look for someone to blame.
Here's an example.. I was at a friend's house helping his neighbor install an underground electrical circuit. We're both in our 50's and we had to dig a 100ft trench. He has two teenage kids and while we were digging the trench and installing everything, the kids were inside playing video games. We're all complaining about our knees, it's hot out, taking breaks every twenty minutes, etc.. like old guys. So I asked him, why don't you get your kids out here to help? Nope, that was never going to happen..
For F**ks sakes... and they wonder why the kids grow up lazy and stupid and need government help with everything? That guy's kids are never outside, they never do chores, never work with their father..
My child works right along with my wife and I.. if we're building the barn, she's bringing nails or helping move the ladders.. If we're cleaning up the yard, she's dragging branches and sticks.. In fact, I usually give her tasks that are about 10% beyond what I think her capabilities are.
It's not the schools, its the parents. But you will never get someone to admit they are at fault themselves.