Something just below the radar that many might have missed, but is important in the bigger picture.
Although I may have driven a tractor in high school, pitched hay in college, owned a house in a town with a population of 895 people where the majority of the town’s square mileage were cranberry bogs, fields of corn, and pastures filled with horses and cows, taught with a gentleman whose family had raised dairy cows for generations, and for a time lived in Oklahoma and went to farm and ranch related events with friends ho ere farmers and ranchers, having been born in Boston and raised in the suburbs, I may have been familiar with the 4-H Club and known how important it is to its members, but I was not part of it.
In my time in the small town, I attended local county fairs and individual town festivals, once while employed part time at a Sears, handed out charge card applications for a week at a county fair, where very proud kids with even prouder parents showed off the results of their hard work raising various animals, and, although to me a cow was just a cow, a chicken just a chicken, and a rabbit just a rabbit, to the kids who won the ribbons and those who didn’t measure up, there was something major there that I was missing.
And judging from my fellow teacher, that pride of accomplishment stays with the winners long after the blue on the ribbon faded.
The four Hs in the club’s name stand for ‘head, heart, hands, and health’, words contained in the 4-H oath,
“I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world.”
Like any group for kids, the kids who might want to join the4-H Club are as diverse as the general population, and, so to ensure that any kid who might want to join won’t be turned away, the organization in Iowa, which is run by Iowa State University updated its diversity guidelines to read,
“Iowa 4-H does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. Veteran in any of its programs or activities.”
In short, anyone with the desire to join and the commitment to live up to the pledge can sign up without fear of refusal because of someone else’s beliefs whether religious, political or personal, someone the kids do not know and who may have no connection or interest in the organization beyond it being one more thing over which they can exercise some self assumed control.
A person’s potential is not to be limited by anyone seeking to exercise more power or claiming a right that they really don’t have to do so.
The proposed language comes from Iowa State University which oversees the program there, and when it was published on the appropriate websites, that institution issued the statement,
“At the encouragement of the USDA (which oversees the program nationally), Iowa 4-H is reviewing a preliminary draft guidance regarding LGBT Youth and Volunteers… The preliminary draft guidance is not final and will not be implemented until the review process is completed. Any final guidance issued will consider the comments received, as well as Iowa State University policy, State and Federal law, USDA guidance on these issues, and input from our campus, State, and local community partners. ISU Extension and Outreach is dedicated to creating a safe and inclusive atmosphere for all Iowa youth participating in 4-H programs and activities.”
And the negative comments came swiftly, and were predictable.
The religious right went nuts, and the Trump administration, through. Heidi Green, then-chief of staff for U.S. Secretary of Agriculture requested that The second option is to present a letter from the previous check it right here now order cheap cialis school stating that a course that is equivalent to the California requirements has been taken. It is required to consult a cialis fast shipping http://cute-n-tiny.com/tag/cat/page/9/ doctor before taking Kamagra. Misuse of Medication Some of the most misused medications are – Stimulants prescribed to treat narcolepsy, hyperactivity or attention deficit disorders CNS (Central Nervous System) depressants used for sleep and anti depressants – When you’re on a prescribed daily dose of sleeping medicine or an antidepressant pill and you know they are about to run out, all you have cialis prescription to do is order. Musli Strong cheapest viagra click here to find out more capsules also offer effective treatment for fatigue and erectile dysfunction. it be rescinded.
It was removed from its website by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the department within the USDA directly over 4-H, the day after it appeared.
Iowa state director Jean-Paul Chaisson-Cárdenas started getting death threats from right wingers and evangelicals when he refused to take down the proposed guidance ISU’s site, insisting that 4-H “is for all kids.”
Many state legislators and officials from Iowa State University are right wing Republicans, so they acted to make the evangelicals happy.
Liberty Council threatened lawsuits and put out an action alert.
The Family Leader, whose mission it claims is to be a consistent, courageous voice in the churches, in the legislature, in the media, in the courtroom, and in the public square, posted on its website,
“ISU is looking to implement a new policy for Iowa’s 4-H clubs that would dictate: 1. Men who claim to be women (without any medical or legal verification) must be allowed to bunk with 4H girls on overnight trips, 2. Men who claim to be women must be allowed access to girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms and 3. Local 4-H clubs must overrule parental “objections or concerns” to enforce the transgender policy.”
They chose to ignore the Commandment against lying to misrepresent the intent of the policy and promote false tropes about Transgender people.
Eventually, Chaisson-Cárdenas was fired over his support for the policy.
Iowa State University claims they’re about “equal opportunity”.
The guidelines are actually in synch with Iowa’s civil rights laws, the Iowa Department of Education’s guidance on transgender students, and the inclusive language of Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, all of which do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or status as a U.S. veteran.
In spite of the attempts of the Trump administration to exclude GLBT youth from full citizenship and equality, and the religious crowd’s attempt to discriminate on the basis of its twisted religious beliefs by promoting fear inducing and intellectually insulting misinformation, when the comment period ended and reason prevailed, the Iowa 4-H Club issued its guidelines which state,
“Iowa 4-H Youth Development follows Federal and State law and Iowa State University policy regarding non-discrimination. In keeping with Federal and State law, Iowa 4-H does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. Veteran in any of its programs or activities. ISU Extension and Outreach is dedicated to creating a safe and inclusive atmosphere for all Iowa youth participating in 4-H programs and activities. Accommodations needed to promote a safe and inclusive atmosphere for all Iowa Youth participating in 4-H Programs will be done in compliance with Federal and State law on a case-by-case basis.
Overview: Iowa 4-H Youth Development has a goal to provide a safe and welcoming experience for all 4-H youth. ISU Extension and Outreach will work with staff, the Iowa Extension CouncilAssociation and partners to discuss and refine how to address reasonable accommodation requests from parents. County staff and councils are the conduit to volunteers, parents and partners and they make the local decisions about accommodations. ISU Extension and Outreach will offer advice, information and education.”
Another unnecessary and mean spirited battle won.