Of late, all of the talk about Mississippi’s list of “official” things has focused on the state’s flag, which features a burning cross in its canton. Or maybe it’s a Confederate flag. I forget which. It’s one of those wholesome visuals, though.

What has received far less attention is Mississippi’s official song, “Go Mississippi (and take Arkansas with you).”

It’s a pretty generic tune and every so often a bill is introduced to replace that song with something a little more specific. To date, those efforts have failed.

Given the prevailing attitude of our Republican establishment — which controls both houses of the Legislature and the governor’s office — I believe we should again consider a new state song, one that more accurately reflects the attitude of those in power.

I propose “The Wall” by Pink Floyd, primarily for a single line of lyrics: “We don’t need no education.”

If there is one thing our Republican leadership despises above all others it is the idea of spending the money required to ensure that all our children have access to an “adequate” education.

Back in 1997, when the godless Democrats had some say in matters, the Legislature passed the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. It was supposed to hold the Legislature accountable for providing the necessary funds to ensure that every child had access to a great education. No, I’m just kidding, of course. Adequate has always been good enough. Our state motto should be “Mediocris pro totus” — mediocrity for all.

Turns out, even “adequate” required a far greater commitment to education than the Legislature was willing to make. The state has met that funding requirement just twice in 18 years.

Of late, there has been a growing sentiment outside of Jackson for improving our schools. It has reached the point where our Legislature has had to turn away from the important business of writing new laws to ensure that every Mississippian has more guns than teeth to deal with this matter.

What really got their attention was a successful petition effort that will allow voters this fall to require the Legislature to fully fund MAEP through an amendment to the state constitution.

Them there is fightin’ words. “Forget this whole education business,” they say. “Here, have another gun.”

In the interest of brevity, I will not list all the tactics employed to attack the proposed amendment. The latest effort pretty much capsulizes all previous attempts.

Last week, Herb Frierson, the House Appropriations Chairman, quietly pulled aside the department heads of the state to inform them that if the constitutional amendment passes, each department should make plans to cut almost 8 percent from their budgets.

I am being facetious, of course. There was nothing “quiet” about it. Short of renting out planes that carried banners that said, “If we have to fund education, we’re going to make your lives miserable,” Frierson did everything he could to make sure the message got out to every corner of the state.

Frierson defended his call for cuts as a matter of facing the fiscal realities our state faces. But his argument is dubious. His reasoning does not allow for the full-funding to be implemented in stages, as the proposal advocates. It is also transparently dishonest and there is but one point that proves this.

Just a few months ago, Frierson voted for a proposal that would have eliminated state income tax, a measure that, if it had passed, would have taken a whopping $1.7 billion out of the state’s budget, which, incidentally, is about the same amount of money the state has underfunded public K-12 education since the beginning of MAEP.

It is revealing to note that Frierson did not summon the department heads to inform them of any cuts that would be necessary should state income tax be eliminated. No, a few months ago, the state was in a position to cut about a third of its income with no negative impact on services provided by the state.

Frierson’s “sky is falling” rhetoric should be recognized for what it is — merely the latest clumsy assault in a carefully orchestrated political campaign to kneecap our state’s K-12 education.

“Hey, teachers! Leave them kids alone!”

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].