One of the candidates for the school board here in District 112 wants to rewrite history because most of history has been written by white males.
I can't imagine what this candidate says about the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, et. al.
Or about the writings of John Hancock, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, et. al. 
Or about the writings of Mitch, Floyd, Dan, Rod, Carlos, Jack, Jim, Brian, and Dick.
If we must rewrite the Bible and the Declaration of Independence, surely we must also rewrite the first three pages of this issue of the Gazette.  Oofda.  It makes me tired just thinking about it.
It is true, in human history, that few women and minorities put their words on paper for the masses.  That has changed in relatively recent times, of course.  But human history was always advancing toward civilization.  People were on their way toward industrialization and mass communication, not to mention the Alaskan Gold Rush and Silicon Valley.
And it was subsistence and survival that dictated roles in a harsh and often unfriendly environment.  That doesn't mean that truth wasn't told by those holding the pen nor was it hidden by those changing the diapers.  It simply means that human history has been in a state of progression.
We cannot and should not rewrite history and change the facts simply because they were recorded by white males.  It was white males and Christianity that brought us civilization to begin with.  Have you ever read How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill?  You should.  It's an education, and education is on our minds today.
Speaking of minds, most men I know have roughly the same mind as the favored woman in their life.  A success-fully married couple mainly have the same perspective and opinions and see the same truths. 
I believe that great men are always influenced by great women.  I also believe that when we read the historical words of white males or black males or brown males, we are also reading the words of white females and black females and brown females who are standing or sitting or kneeling at their side.
As long as I'm on a roll here, maybe you'll bear with me for a comment on a comment from another one of the school board candidates.  I can't get it out of my mind.
It's related to my Question #5, which is different from the first four questions because part of #5 required fact, not mere opinion, for the answer.  What is the salary and benefit package of the Superintendent of School District 112?
Again, it is obvious this is asking for fact, not opinion.  Dollars and cents are factual things.  And I was surprised how each of the nine candidates who returned their questionnaire stated different facts ... or chose to submit none at all.
Does this mean that the facts can be changed or ignored?  No.  It means that the taxpayer doesn't have the facts and neither, apparently, do most of the candidates.   
Facts are facts whether you're a scientist or a teacher or a school superintendent -- or a white male or a female or a minority person -- and they are not supposed to change with the climate or the time of day or the election.
Some of the school board candidates seem to think that it is not politically correct to ask such a question about the salary of our school superintendent, that it's not respectful.
My opinion is that we have an obliga-tion and a responsibility to know the facts about where our tax dollars are going, especially such a large chunk of them.  We taxpayers have every right to see in print the salary of our school superinten-dent.  We are the ones paying it.  We are the stakeholders, the owners, of this school "corporation."
It is my opinion that taxpayers are not being disrespectful by asking and seeing the salary of the top dog in our school district.  Where would we go if we couldn't bark up our own tree?
Since I'm ranting a bit today, I'll pick on the statement of yet another candidate who wrote, "Often the truth can be subjective."  My goodness, I almost fell off my chair!
Truth is never subjective.  It is always and forever objective.  Truth is never dependent on results of a poll.  Truth has been around since the very beginning of time and it never changes.  It waits to be discovered (not developed!), one piece at a time, and it is only opinion that changes with the wind.
It is accurate to say that we create opinion, and we discover truth.  I don't mind at all that most of truth has been written for us and to us by white males.  I say thank you from the bottom of my heart.  It stood us in good stead for a long time.  It wasn't junk and it wasn't pornographic.  It wasn't gossip and it wasn't doublespeak.  It wasn't self serving and it wasn't grandiose. 
It was simply the truth, and I don't like any woman or minority person or school board member or anyone else tampering with it.  Write the future instead.  That book is still open.

                                                                           ~Sue