Parochialism

I suppose it's unfair to pick on the antics of morons, but let's do it anyway. The school board in the prosperous Upper St Clair district of Pittsburgh have dropped the International Baccalaureate from the High School curriculum because it was "anti-Christian, un-American and Marxist" and, this is where the charge of xenophobia comes in, the IB tests "were developed in a foreign country". At least the students, and parents, are not taking this lying down:

There was uproar at the Upper St Clair high school in a prosperous suburb of Pittsburgh last month when board members governing the local school district voted 5-4 at a heated meeting to throw out the IB.

In the interests of balanced editorial, I would like to point out there are morons on both sides of the debate.

Since the vote, one of the board members who opposes the IB and calls its internationalist, pro-egalitarian ideals "Marxist" has received death threats.

So the IB, has avid supporters of its ideals who are prepared to kill for them. That's some course.

The ACLU is joining with parents to sue the school. Interestingly the federal government,from PotUS down, is all in favour of the IB.

Is local politics like this the world over?