Say what you will about the “woke” Left’s recent fall from favor, there’s no denying their profound cultural victories. Just consider the results of a 2023 Gallup poll and a 2020 Democracy Fund voter study group:
- While “four in 10 American adults overall say they are extremely proud to be an American, just a measly 18% of those aged 18 to 34 say the same,” reported the New York Post last year.
- “Three quarters of Gen Z say that the nation requires ‘significant change,’ while two in three agree that ‘America is an unfair society,’” the paper also related.
- “Perhaps worst of all,” the Post continued, “four in 10 Zoomers say that America’s Founding Fathers are better described as villains than heroes.”
My, the irredeemably paranoid could almost think they’ve been brainwashed — almost.
None of this is inexplicable. Psychologist Dr. Kenneth Higbee noted, “If you look for the bad in people, you will surely find it.” Since nations comprise people, this is true of them as well. And, boy, have historians, educators, and entertainers ever found the bad in America. They’ve made up a lot of it, too.
Worse still, they’ve inundated generations of kids with this (mis)information. Thus did late Soviet defector Yuri Bezmenov say in the mid-’80s already that the “demoralization” process was “more than complete.” That was 40 years ago.
How much more than complete is it today?
Turning Reality on Its Head
Noting this, and emphasizing that the process must be reversed, is commentator Susan Quinn. As she wrote Thursday:
Leftists have used propaganda to try to convince our country that we should be ashamed of being Americans; that our history is one of slavery and hatred; that we have nothing that we can be proud of in terms of the growth and progress of American culture.
Obviously, this is a serious matter. If you believe a dish is unhealthful and nauseating, why would you learn the recipe, cook it up, and pass it down to your kids?
If you think traditional America was a misbegotten place, why would you care about learning the recipe that created it and perpetuate the civilization? A “Year Zero” might sound good instead.
Quinn then quotes approvingly a fact sheet on a March executive order President Trump signed. It states:
Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order restoring truth and sanity to American history by revitalizing key cultural institutions and reversing the spread of divisive ideology.
… The Order also directs the Secretary of the Interior [to] restore Federal parks, monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties that have been improperly removed or changed in the last five years to perpetuate a false revision of history or improperly minimize or disparage certain historical figures or events.
… In the last decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted effort to rewrite American history and force our nation to adopt a factually baseless ideology aimed at diminishing American achievement. President Trump is fighting back by reestablishing truth in the historical narrative and restoring Federal sites dedicated to American heritage.
Want to Change the Culture? Change Your Thinking
Trump’s action is positive. Nonetheless, deep cultural change is necessary here if we’re to right the ship. And conservatives are part of the problem, too — quite unwittingly.
Consider, for example, a disclaimer frequently issued as a preface when defending our nation. “Well, I know our country isn’t perfect,” people will say. The issue?
Imagine you were giving a speech about your mother and opened with, “Now, we know my mother isn’t perfect, but.” Sound good?
Since we’re all imperfect, it’s a given your mother has flaws, and, therefore, it isn’t something you’d normally even think to mention. Thus, doing so involves the implication that your mother isn’t just saddled with normal imperfections — but that she’s uniquely flawed. It’s not something you do unless she’s a somewhat horrible person.
And we shouldn’t do it our motherland, either. We need to stop.
Enslaved to Destructive Assumptions
An even bigger issue is the false supposition that we must teach young children about slavery. “Hold on, Duke, that’s part of our history!” you say? Well, consider an analogy I’ve used.
When you have a young child, at some point he’ll want to know a bit about his parents’/family’s “history.” So you might tell him how mommy and daddy met, why they liked each other so much, a cute story relating to this, or other things of that nature. But imagine you said:
“Well, ya’ know, kiddo, mommy was around the block with a lot of guys. To be honest, she had a couple of abortions as well. And daddy, whoa, he got nabbed with drugs when he was 19: possession with intent to distribute. He might’ve ended up in the pokey, too, except that his dad had pull and knew the local prosecutor.”
Would continuing in this vein be wise? There might be a time, during a heart-to-heart when the tyke is an adult, to perhaps broach family sins. But it’s inappropriate with a kid, as it could scandalize the family. With youths, it’s prudent to focus on the positive.
It’s no different with a national family. Only a small percentage of history can be taught, especially to young children. So you must pick and choose wisely. Be mindful of the goal, too: giving students a basic understanding of their civilization’s founding and how it’s meant to function, and a sense of national pride. If you can accomplish just this, you’ve done a lot.
Specifics
Returning to Quinn, she mentions two issues often used to impugn America. One is the notion that there’s a police “war on blacks.” This is untrue, as a source she provides illustrates. I have also refuted this repeatedly, such as here, here, here, here, and here.
The second issue is slavery, which has been called, often by value-signalers, “America’s original sin.” This is, frankly, quite stupid. The United States didn’t originate slavery, but inherited it; in fact, it was ubiquitous throughout the world at our founding. And the main point is this: The West might not have been the first civilization to practice slavery.
But it was the first to end it.
As for the fledgling United States, an effort to quash slavery was written into Vermont’s constitution in 1777 already. So it’s not America’s original sin; rather, its elimination is one of her triumphs.
Also warranting mention is the lynch-mob-like disparaging of Christopher Columbus. I addressed this in 2017’s “Killing Columbus: Seeking the ‘Undiscovery’ of America.”
Likewise, I defended George Washington, a true American hero, here and here.
Clearly, we have much work to do if we’re going to restore truth, sanity, and national pride. And how will we know we’ve turned the corner? When people no longer feel compelled to apologize for America, but do feel compelled to apologize for attacking her.
