Nebraska Patriot Dies

Fought for Educational Freedom

Update: Congress actually held a hearing on religious freedom during this period (https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED257762/mode/2up) The dubious Southern Poverty Law Center also mentions the issue (https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2001/seizure-indianapolis-baptist-temple-ends-standoff-%E2%80%98unregistered%E2%80%99-church-movement-continues). You will notice the mention of Greg Dixon who also died not too long ago (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/204051899/greg-j-dixon).

The fight for freedom in education has been a long battle in Nebraska. Just recently, Forward Nebraska listed the confrontation over the Opportunity Scholarship Act (https://forwardnebraska.substack.com/p/the-racist-nsea-petition). The article is excellent in pointing to the conflict ahead to advance educational freedom. However, I wonder if anyone really knows how long this fight has been going on. Is it really necessary to make it mandatory for teachers to be certified? Is homeschooling pure evil? Well, Nebraska government schools have held a near monopoly on education and the fight has a long history which has been forgotten.  People have actually gone to jail for educational freedom.

Unfortunately, many of the strongest advocates for freedom were dismissed when they objected to government control. They were jailed for merely trying to teach children free of government intervention. In the mid-1980’s Pastor and Dr. Everett Sileven made objections to compulsory certification of teachers. Nebraska law was tyrannically absolute and in many ways, still is. Law enforcement was called in and their Baptist Church in Louisville, Nebraska was padlocked and Sileven went to jail. He would not be the only one.  He wrote books about this, but your local historical society does not have any of these books, just what the press published. If we do not preserve this history, we will lose it.

Those who fought for freedom are getting old and dying. One who recently died was Larry Lee Nolte, who died this month. In 1983, Mr. Nolte would go to jail for 93 days fighting for the right to teach children. He was known as one of the Nebraska 7, the seven parents who went to jail (https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1983/12/03/jailings-in-nebraska-school-case-turn-church-state-separation-into-chasm/9761df2b-97d5-4912-881d-03f358e6522e/). For this, he lost his job and started his own business.

I would not even know of Mr. Nolte, except I so happened to be reading one of Pastor Sileven’s books and trying to understand the conflict of the time. A long-time friend and associate of mine noticed and was curious about what I was reading. I told him and it led to a few discussions. This was months ago. Now, he informed me of Nolte and shared the information handed out as Nolte’s funeral. Thus now, I know what Nolte went through, who he was, and how he lived. More should know about him.

The saying goes “freedom is not for free”, it extracts a cost. Nolte exemplified this understanding with his arrest, jail time, and his dedication to faith. His children should be very proud of him. He should be remembered. God forgive us if we forget him.