A teacher recently branded a local board member as a "Nazi." But who or what is a "Nazi?" The answer may surprise you.

In a heated exchange at an open board meeting, this high school teacher wound up calling one of the board members a Nazi, after the board member spoke out against illegal aliens. The teacher later apologized and will not experience any disciplinary action.

Who is the "Nazi" in all this. Not a word in the media about this question. Apparently, the press thinks this question is already answered.

Let me shed a little light on this subject and you decide who is the Nazi.

The board member was civil in his complaint as he made the case for doing something about illegal student aliens. He believes that people who have illegally crossed our borders should be sent back to their native countries. That is one version of "Nazi."

There is another.

You send your child to school but are not permitted to sit in the classroom, tape any of the lectures or class proceeding. You have no say as to the textbooks being used. In most places, you have no choice as to the school your child will attend and, if you complain, you are ignored. When it comes to scientific or historical text, the subject matter is determined at the national level, giving the parents no controls over the finished results. In many school districts, school counselors are authorized to send your daughters to "family planning" clinics for abortion services without your knowledge and against your will. In fact, there is a clearly documented trend away from parental and local controls. Teachers are not allowed to hint at a religious point of view nor are they allowed to bow their heads during student lead prayers. The mention of "God" is being systematically redacted. American history is being rewritten to reflect the complaints of the world's opinion of the United States. And the unions supporting teacher concerns are assuming more and more power, working against voucher programs, free speech, and certain morally based issues such as the current gay debate. Most union retirement programs are unsustainable and cannot exist without increasing taxed contribution from the citizenry and when community leaders try to deal with the issue, teachers and their unions go on strike, vandalize public offices and encourage their political leaders to interfere with the local system of governance. In most cases, teachers cannot be fired because of poor in-class performance and resist accountability programs designed to improve the classroom circumstance and fix certain educational goals. . . . . . . . I could go on but you get the point, no?

Understand that a "Nazi" is a state official who is in the business of diminishing individual freedoms and controls, one who represents the state and will not tolerate opposition.