As a political wonk, I have long observed and opined on the political influence of the teachers’ unions and college and university professors on our young people.

Most of you know how liberal professors dominate our institutions of higher learning, but are you aware of what’s going on in our high schools, and, yes, even our elementary schools?

I was reminded how the teachers’ unions are guilty of steering America’s young children to leftist views when I read two recent articles reveal – “Teachers union instructs members how to push identity politics on students,” and “How America’s Children Became Progressive Political Activists.”

In 2009, I was shocked when I heard the farewell address made by Bob Chanin, the retiring general counsel of the National Education Association (NEA), and have referred to it a number of times over the following years.   Posing the question as to why the NEA has been such an effective organization, Chanin said:

“It is not because of creative ideas.  It is not because of the merit of our position. It is not because we care about children.  It is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child.

“NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power and we have power because there are more than 3.2* million people who are willing to pay us hundreds of millions of dollars in dues each year because they believe we are the union that can effectively represent them: the union that can protect their rights and advance their interests as education employees.”

Teachers in attendance wildly applauded.  How disappointing.

*Today, the NEA website continues to publish its membership at three million.

The NEA reports some $2 million in political contributions, given predominantly to Democrats and spends $1.3 million in lobbying, according to OpenSecrets.org.

In the first article, by Alexander Pease in College Fix, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the second largest teachers’ union, outlines how the AFT wants its 1.7 million member teachers to practice under the theme “A Defining Moment for Democracy,” in which she cites President Trump’s “bigotry and cruelty.”

With an emphasis on inclusion in the classroom in its fall quarterly, AFT member teachers were introduced to a study plan with 32 references to “racial identity,” 33 to “racism,” 34 to “diversity,” 39 to “discrimination,” 52 to “prejudice,” 54 to “hate,” 79 to “identity” and 102 to “bias.”

Especially disturbing is the fact that the AFT collaborated with the controversial Southern Poverty Law Center, a known Trump hate group, to develop a session called, “Assessing and Interrupting Intolerance at School.”

Unlike the NEA, the AFT’s political contributions do not come from dues, but come from organization PACs, individual members, employees and family members.  OpenSecrets.org lists the AFT’s contributions at $1.7 million.

The second article mentioned above tells of the effort to turn our children into political activists for the left.

While many of you will recall having been brought up in Democrat households, only to find conservativism and the Republican Party when we became adults, we are now living in an era unimaginable back then.

“Many young people are enrolling in colleges and universities, where their left-leaning professors are strongly influencing their points of view,” writes Loyd Pettegrew in The Federalist.  There is considerable data documenting this reality. Most K-12 teachers lean liberal and vote Democrat by an 8-1 margin, according to Pew Research.

Another study by Verdant Labs indicates that K-12 teachers vote Democrat on a 10 to 1 basis.

“History sadly reveals the overwhelming effects education can have on young people’s social orientation,” notes Pettegrew.  “A clear example of how leftist doctrines have infiltrated the U. S. public school education system can be seen in the preparation programs for history teachers,” (where) the preponderance of history courses are taught in colleges of social science.”  Teacher candidates are immersed in the concepts of equality, diversity and social justice.

Leftist educators have a mission to teach Democratic socialism, promoted by the Democrat presidential candidates with the promise that the government will take care of us, with plans to pay off student loans, universal base income for everyone, open borders, a wealth tax, and, in general, the goodies of a nanny state.

As many of these young people “with heads full of mush” become voters, with heroes like Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, we must worry about this misinformed electorate that can be as dangerous to our democracy as an uninformed electorate.

Seventy percent of millennials (ages 23-28) say they are somewhat or extremely likely to vote for a socialist candidate, and 51 percent of Generation Z (ages 16-22) have a somewhat or very unfavorable view of capitalism, in a recent poll.

Those numbers should concern we the informed public.

Overall, Americans are hesitant about voting for a “Democratic socialist” reports Morgan Ostalter in The Hill.  Fifty-three percent said they would “never” or were “hesitant” to vote for a candidate identified as such.

May God continue to bless the United States of America.