This article was originally published in the National Catholic Register.

The U.S. Department of Justice recently released a special “Back to School” message on its YouTube channel. Why, you may ask, is the Department of Justice, the top law enforcement establishment in the most powerful country in the world, producing a back-to-school
message?

They are welcoming the “transgender students.” Superficially, it looks warm and friendly. But beneath the surface lies a masterpiece of sexual-revolutionary
propaganda: This is the Sexual State at work.


It begins harmlessly. Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Suzanne Goldberg smiles into the camera and assures us that lots of kids have anxieties
about a new school year. After establishing this rapport with the viewer, she continues, “If you are transgender, perhaps you’re worried about simply
being accepted and safe and treated with respect as you head into the new school year.” As if this is an obvious issue in schools festooned with “Safe
Space” stickers and trans-supportive signage.

Likewise, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Civil Rights Division starts off nicely enough, acknowledging that “many schools are doing
their best to make schools safe and welcoming places for all students, including LGBTQI students.” But then the tone darkens. That is not the case
for everyone, she intones, “including, perhaps you.”

With this phrase, this high-ranking official of the federal government is making an alliance with the student: “In some places, people are putting up obstacles,
to keep you from playing on the sports field, accessing the bathroom and receiving the supportive and life-saving care you may need.” In other words,
“all those terrible people who oppose our agenda are threatening your health and well-being.”

Then the hammer drops: “We’re here to say that is wrong. It is against the law.” In other words, the Department of Education and the entire federal government
stand behind you. The video tells students where they can file a complaint.

Some students who adopt a transgender identity are on the autism spectrum. Many adolescents feel out of place and socially awkward. When they “come out”
as trans, they suddenly have friends and support. Now, they learn that the federal government “has their back.”

Many public and private schools have GSAs, defined originally as “Gay Straight Alliance,” but more recently defined as “Gender and Sexuality Alliances.”
In many schools, these clubs have more posters and promotions on the school grounds than any other club.

Who exactly, then, is likely to file a complaint?

Perhaps a child in a state that is trying to resist the trans-juggernaut by passing laws allocating bathroom use and athletic participation according to
the sex of the body. The self-identified trans kid who makes a complaint can become the focus of a test case. Maybe some rural schools somewhere are
still “holding out” against the gender ideology. The federal government can step in and get the school district in line with a lawsuit or even the
threat of a lawsuit.

The schools are often more supportive of the child’s desires than their parents. The schools assist the child in obtaining medical interventions designed
to change or disguise the sex of the body. Parents already fear losing a child to child protective services over these issues. The child filing a complaint
to the federal government can bully the parents into submission.

Speaking of bullying, Dr. Rachel Levine, Department of Health and Human Services assistant secretary for health, had a lot to say about bullying in this
video. Levine is a biological man who lives as a woman. I wonder if Levine is equally concerned with all forms of bullying. Kids on the autism spectrum
get bullied over their social awkwardness and other symptoms. That is why they sometimes feel better temporarily when they decide to label themselves
“trans”: The kids at school fawn over them.

How about the kids who get bullied for their religious beliefs? Or their appearance? What about the girls who feel manipulated into sexting their boyfriends
and then get taunted when those boys show the photos all over school? How about the female students who feel unsafe sharing a restroom with male students
who claim to be female? None of these children receive a video message from the Department of Justice promising to protect them.

One thing is for sure: The Sexual State will not allow parents, states and localities to make their own decisions, pass their own laws, or adapt to the
wishes of their own people. The Sexual State, captured by ideologues, is here to enforce the brave new world where no one is bound by the sex of their
bodies.

The Justice Department is telling the American public: No debate is permitted on gender ideology. We have framed and answered all the questions to our
satisfaction.

This video is a clear message of Radical Individualism with a Capital R and a Capital I: “You are whomever you want to be.” That’s the appealing side of
Individualism. “You will have no permanent connections with any other human being. The state will see to that.” That is the dark side of Individualism.

The state will come between children and their parents. The state will come between the local school board and the community it is pledged to serve. The
state will come between the child and his own gendered body, if the child so wills it, even temporarily.

This video sends an unmistakable message from the Sexual State: “We intend to enforce our ideology, like it or not. We stand ready to use children as enforcers.
We want children to rat out their parents and their teachers. They cannot trust the adults who are part of their lives, such as their teachers or pastors.
They cannot trust the people who gave them life, their parents. We want every child to see us and us alone, as their savior and protector.”

Make no mistake. The “transgender movement” is not a grassroots movement. This “movement” is the artificial creation of the elites, who have captured the
power of the state to remake the world in their own image and gender-fluid likeness. Without the full force of the federal government crushing dissent,
this movement would have no legs. Period.

Welcome back to school.