Non-Sexual Nudity Under Attack

There is nothing on Earth more beautiful than the human body. This is what I believe, and it is also the inspiration for most of the great art created throughout history, from the Venus de Milo to the Sistine Chapel, from the voluptuous Rubens nudes to the ample impressionist bare breasted women in Renoir paintings, and so on.

And today I read that a Texas fifth grade art teacher has been fired because she took her class to the Dallas Art Museum on a field trip and there was a nude sculpture on display. (Story here and video here). A parent complained and the teacher lost her job. This has to be the single most reprehensible and unacceptable action ever taken against an teacher regarding nude art.

When people FEAR the naked human body to the degree where they freak out at the mere sight of a nude sculpture, it's a psychological issue. When a school board supports and upholds this irrational fear, it is a crime against humanity.

Is it religious upbringing that is causing this reaction from some people? Or is it the politics of fear, when sex and the human condition becomes a divisive issue to stir up fear and get people out to vote? Gay marriage, sex offenders, Janet Jackson's nipple, and other issues are being used to incite people into choosing candidates and supporting issues that arouse emotions. Be afraid, be very afraid.

If one does believe in God, and also believes that humans are the creation of God, then it is logical to also believe that the human body is divine and something to be appreciated, even worshiped. To condemn an artistic rendering of this divine form goes against any religious teaching - even the Sistine chapel has Adam's genitals on full display as he touches the hand of God.

What does this teach our children? That the human body is something to be ashamed of, something dirty and disgusting. This is not healthy for normal development and children raised under these circumstances will probably harbor unhealthy attitudes about their own bodies and the bodies of others.

This story of the Texas teacher is simply too fantastic to even be believed, but it's true and classic art is under attack. This Texas school board is defining non-sexual nudity in art as harmful for fifth graders, and is therby defining ALL nudity as unacceptable. If a teacher can lose a job because of something in a museum, then anything can happen to anyone.

Buddy Minett, school board president, declined to talk about the case. "This is something where it's really better if we don't comment," he said.

That's because the school board acted out of fear. One should never be afraid of the truth, and the truth is that the teacher did absolutely nothing wrong; in fact, she should be commended for expanding the horizons of her students' minds.

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