Inauthentic Conservatism At Work in Republican Lawmaker’s Mandate to See D’Souza Movie

It’s not hard to sense that Tampa Bay Times reporter Jeff Solochek doesn’t think much of Sen. Alan Hays (R-Umatilla) bill which would mandate Florida students see what the editors describe in the headline as a “conservative, patriotic” movie.

During the 2014 legislative session, Florida Sen. Alan Hays looked to remove the state from the process of reviewing and selecting textbooks. The decisions, he argued, should be left to local school districts

He appears to have different ideas when it comes to Dinesh D’Souza’s conservative-leaning movie on the United States’ history, America: Imagine the World Without Her.

I saw the movie and walked out of the theater and said, ‘Wow, our students need to see this.’ And it’s my plan to show it to my colleagues in the legislature, too, before they’re asked to vote on the bill,” Hays, whose other controversial bills have included a press for creationism in schools (2008) told the paper.

The Hollywood Reporter reported late last week that Hays intends to file legislation in 2015 requiring all Florida public middle and high school students view the film unless parents specifically opt out.

As a registered republican – and self-described conservative with sanity – I want to remind  my brethren of their previous outrage over textbook content and concerns over “public school indoctrination.” Solochek fairly points out Hays hypocrisy in the manner. I’ve not seen the D’Souza movie and will make no comment on its content, but like most authentic conservatives  I don’t care for such mandates.

Perhaps Hays might consider his colleagues on the other side of the aisle proposing all Florida students watch The Day After Tomorrow to grasp potential calamities of Global Warming. Or how about any number of Michael Moore movies like, say, Fahrenheit 9/11 as a mini-documentary on the most recent Bush presidency?

No?

While Hays couches his bill with a parental opt-out clause, he’s knows that it wouldn’t be an effective or user-friendly one. Like any movie a teacher would show, kids will see it. Parental “choice” in this instance would exist in ideal but not application. An authentic conservative like D’Souza wouldn’t approve of such a mandate to watch his film and prefer it be a real choice by a family to see his movie at the theatre or later on when it becomes more economical.