Today, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sent a letter representing the demands of 37 Senate Republicans that the administration pull their support from the 1619 Project, a controversial program promoted in 2019 that, in the words of the Daily Mail “takes slavery and puts it in the center of the American narrative” four centuries later. This is an example of what is sometimes termed a paradigm shift, or a change in fundamental assumptions. Such as from the Genesis account of our beginnings to evolution. Historically, the American Revolution was said to have been fought over taxation without representation, as well as other odious pieces of legislation passed by Parliament and imposed on the thirteen colonies. Many of these grievances appear itemized in the Declaration of Independence. However, proponents of the 1619 Project are trying to sweep these classical explanations aside in favor of the hypothesis that, it was, in truth, slavery that was the central concern and not taxes. England was already on the path of abolishing the slave trade and—according to proponents of the 1619 Project—would have shut down slavery in America had we remained a colony. Why is that important today? It is important for a number of reasons, but most importantly it speaks to the motives of our founding fathers and the fact that they wanted their own personal freedom while denying it to others. Thomas Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence, and in his first draft of the document he wrote among the charges against England: [King George] has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating it’s most sacred rights of life & liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither. this piratical warfare, the opprobrium of infidel powers, is the warfare of the CHRISTIAN king of Great Britain. determined to keep open a market where MEN should be bought & sold.” This quote does not appear in the final signed version we have today, no doubt because the southern delegates objected to its inclusion. But think for a moment, or over the next few weeks, what our country might be like today, had the slaves been granted their independence on Independence Day? Would race relations today be different, and how so?
Critical Race Theory
Then, there is the notion called Critical Race Theory (CRT) that Republicans are also up in arms against. Critical Race Theory casts doubt and criticism on the very underpinnings of our society, culture, history and law, representing gender activists as well as other disenfranchised groups or peoples of color, each with their own grievances and demands. Common to CRT is a reduced reliance on facts and evidence in favor of storytelling and personal anecdotes. Storytelling and counter-storytelling might be illustrated with a five-chapter history book on (for example) the sixties. One chapter would be written by a member of what then President Nixon called the “silent majority” or in other words, a middle class white male who worked as barber or truck driver or shop keeper while another chapter might be written by a black nurse, black auto worker or black civil rights demonstrator. A Hispanic-American author or immigrant might write the third chapter covering that decade, while an anti-war protestor would write the fourth chapter. Or, perhaps a Muslim or Jew. Finally, a native American would contribute Chapter Five. But under CRT each narrative would be held as equally valid, even though they might vary widely and conflict one with another. Jonestown might factiously stand on equal footing with Georgetown.
“A signature of CRT is revisionist history. This method ‘reexamines America’s historical record’ to replace narratives that only reflect the majority perspective . . .”
Noise Project notes that “Critical Race Theory can be used to deconstruct the power dynamics that surround race and racism through everyday societal structures and institutions.” The term “deconstruct” means criticizing, destroying or taking apart an object. When we see a crowd topple a statue of a confederate officer, that is a form of deconstructing a history that is valued by one group in our society but held in contempt by another.
Noise Project continues: “For example, a signature of CRT is revisionist history. This method ‘reexamines America’s historical record’ to replace narratives that only reflect the majority perspective with those that include the perspectives and lived experiences of minority populations.” In this way revisionist history attempts “to unearth little-known chapters of racial struggle” that can validate the current experiences of minorities and support the desire for change.
Nurses: You gotta love em!
I remember a scene in the movie “Shakespeare in Love.” Everyone who has seen the movie knows that it is more or less loosely about the play Romeo and Juliet. But while in a tavern between rehearsals, and while relaxing with the cast, the nurse in the movie, in order to impress someone, explains that the play is about a nurse and the household she finds herself in, and not in fact about two star-crossed lovers. I thought that that was an interesting twist, but of no consequence in a two-hour movie. Redefining our history, turning good guys into villains or villains into heroes, judging people in the past based on today’s standards sets up a recipe for failure. Add to this the tendency of the radical, militant left to pursue and prosecute people for their beliefs and political preferences and to never forgive something said carelessly in youth or at least many decades ago gives this whole enterprise a Maoist spin, with vicious, intolerant criticism reminescent of the Cultural Revolution in China. And that should not be a surprise, because the left has more than a few hard-core Marxists and Maoists mixed in the crowds like wolves among the sheep. They have their own terminology, outlook on history and agenda for America. It’s not something we want to experience.
Meanwhile, Amazon Prime is scheduling the release of a television series called Cracka where in another dystopian reality, blacks enslave whites and visit the cruelty on them that they (black folks) have suffered in this reality more than 150 years ago. Such a show (in my opinion) is sure to fan the flames of racial tensions that our society is suffering today as it becomes increasingly dystopian itself. How does this show (or shows featuring brutal white-on-black violence) benefit or feed into the community of ideas? Welcome to the United States of Oceania.
Enough is enough
But then, why are people rioting? Is it because police have tasered a black child, or shot another unarmed black motorist, perhaps with his hands up, or choked to death a black person while he was handcuffed and subdued, or beat some unarmed black woman on the street? What are they thinking?! The world is watching. These are all too common occurrences anymore and something must be done. This is unacceptable in a free society. They may do it in North Korea or Iran, or the Philippines, but this is America. Today, a black man cannot go out for a quart of milk anymore in safety (and his life is endangered by the very people sworn to protect him.) However, the cure must not be worse than the disease, itself. Police need our support, and they need to be trained and equipped. We need to weed out the bad apples. Overlooked is the fact that police put their lives in danger on a daily basis. They need public support.
Newspeak?
In the recent past, all sorts of new terms have emerged in the mainstreammedia–terms like structural racism, microaggressions, cultural humility, racial equity, white privilege, and alternative facts just to name a very few. Corporations have held seminars (I’ve sat through some myself.) Many ordinary (white) Americans struggle to understand these concepts. Some accept these theories without question, perhaps naively. Others wonder what the goal is in the minds of the people developing these theories. What is their vision for society in the future? Lay it out like Dr. King did in Washington D.C.
I have a dream
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama — with its vicious racists, with its Governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification — one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!”
Society does change for the better in America, but progress is slow, and you need a collective will to change and also an historical perspective. People from different countries (e.g. Ireland) or different religions (e.g. Catholics) and races (e.g. Asians) have suffered or have been the object of hate crimes when they came to America. Look at the unfortunate history of Native Americans (Indigenous peoples.) We bought their land, stole their land, locked them up on reservations. Now, we see this history in a different light. But Europeans did not introduce violence to North America. Some tribes have made war with others when people across the ocean still thought the world was flat.
Right can be wrong, too
The far right in America also tries to rewrite history as well to their advantage. They underrstand the need to control the narrative as much as the left does. They speak of America as a place a person can pull himself up by his boot straps and become wealthy. Be that as it may, often the people who claim this never had that experience personally, because their parents poured hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) into their children’s name to reduce their tax liability. The right continue to promote advantages for the wealthy and then when the Democrats cry foul and points it out, the Republican accuse them of playing the class warfare card. They in Congress who have the best in health insurance at taxpayers expense do all they can to deny the disadvantaged in society the same quality of care, and they even make it as difficult as possible for qualified people to vote. How many people voted illegally in the last twenty years? Fifty? Two hundred? The last President claimed three million people voted illegally in 2016 and he formed a commission to investigate it. They they found nothing. When people do break the law and vote illegally, it’s because they’ve moved across the street into another precinct, or they’ve married and have not reported their new name. These are not illegal aliens or street people with crisp new twenty dollar bills in their pockets compliments of the Democratic National Committee.
Take a number
There are other extremist groups who might pull you into their orbit if they could: anarchists, white supremists, Proud Boys, many militia groups, Oath Keepers, some violent prone animal rights groups (FBI hyperlink material may not be current) and ecoterrorist groups who destroy property and threaten lives while commiting criminal acts, as well as Islamist groups and so on. Each has its own goal for our country. One group according to the Department of Justice tried to kidnap the governor of Michigan while others stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6th of this year, carrying many otherwise peaceful and unsuspecting Americans along in their wake.
There’s a Biblical precedent here
George Orwell who wrote the book 1984 warned that “Who controls the past controls the future.” We anchor ourselves to certain facts or truths. Perhaps the very first deconstructionist in history was the Serpent in the Garden of Eden. Eve know certain facts that God had shared with her. She knew who and what she was and where she came from and for what purpose. But she allowed the devil to rewrite the narrative, to twist it, change its emphasis, and a different past then gave birth to a different future, one that we all regret at some point in our lives. If we allow radical or reactionary theories to replace the national history that so many academicians have researched and reaffirmed these past two centuries, then our future will be certainly different than what it promises to be. It may be better, but it may be much, much worse.
The 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory are attempts to supplement, clarify or radically rewrite the American paradigm and our nation’s history as far as slavery is concerned, and they are worthy of serious discussion, further research and critique. However, it is undemocratic, not to mention un-American, to attempt to destroy a person’s reputation or jeopardize their livelihood if they do not subscribe to, or if they speak out against, any particular, controversial narrative, whether CRT, Eurocentrism and so on. No single group holds a monopoly on the truth. Conservatives in America feel victimized in this regard, but they, themselves, can be as intolerant as far left groups can be, so it cuts both ways.
America can and must do better. But before we burn down what we’ve built, let’s see what we hope to replace it with before we do. Democrats must come to the table in good faith and without extravagent demands and radical leftist intentions. Republicans just need to show up and admit there is a problem. That’s a tall order for either side.
Here is the Majority Leader’s letter:
Dear Secretary Cardona:
We write to express grave concern with the Department’s effort to reorient the bipartisan American History and Civics Education programs, including the Presidential and Congressional Academies for American History and Civics and the National Activities programs, away from their intended purposes toward a politicized and divisive agenda.
A 2020 survey found that only 51% of Americans can name the three branches of our federal government. A 2019 study found that majorities of Americans in 49 states and the District of Columbia would earn an “F” on the U.S. Citizenship Exam. The most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress found that just 15% of American eighth-graders are “proficient” in U.S. history. School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic have almost certainly intensified these problems by triggering substantial learning losses, particularly for students from underserved backgrounds. Meanwhile, as powerful institutions increasingly subject Americans to a drumbeat of revisionism and negativity about our nation’s history and identity, American pride has plummeted to its lowest level in 20 years.
This is a time to strengthen the teaching of civics and American history in our schools. Instead, your Proposed Priorities double down on divisive, radical, and historically-dubious buzzwords and propaganda. For example, your Proposed Priorities applaud the New York Times’s “1619 Project.” This campaign to “reframe the country’s history, understanding 1619 as our true founding” has become infamous for putting ill-informed advocacy ahead of historical accuracy. Actual, trained, credentialed historians with diverse political views have debunked the project’s many factual and historical errors, such as the bizarre and inaccurate notion that preserving slavery was a primary driver of the American Revolution. One renowned historian called the project “so wrong in so many ways.” Citing this debunked advocacy confirms that your Proposed Priorities would not focus on critical thinking or accurate history, but on spoon-feeding students a slanted story.
Americans do not need or want their tax dollars diverted from promoting the principles that unite our nation toward promoting radical ideologies meant to divide us. This trend is already sweeping through K-12 schools nationwide in absurd ways. In February, the Oregon Department of Education advertised an “anti-racist math” workshop run by an organization which teaches that “white supremacy culture shows up in math classrooms” when “the focus is only on getting the ‘right’ answer” and when “students are required to ‘show their work’ in only one way.” California’s new statewide model curriculum urges teachers to lead students in a “Unity Chant” that prays to Aztec deities for “decolonization.” Curriculum documents from New York discuss “cis-gender privilege” and “disrupting the Western-prescribed nuclear family.”
Families did not ask for this divisive nonsense. Voters did not vote for it. Americans never decided our children should be taught that our country is inherently evil. If your Administration had proposed actual legislation instead of trying to do this quietly through the Federal Register, that legislation would not pass Congress.
In fact, your proposal would distort bipartisan legislation that was led by former Senators Lamar Alexander, Ted Kennedy, and Robert Byrd. The clear legislative intent was to equip young citizens with foundational knowledge about American history, a better understanding of our governing institutions, and more of the vibrant patriotism brought forth by a balanced assessment of our imperfect but exceptional nation. As the HELP Committee explained in 2003, “The committee recognizes how important it is for citizens to understand the principles that have united all Americans since our Nation’s founding. Most countries are united by a common ethnicity, but the United States is united by our commitment to these principles… Although America’s variety and diversity is a great strength, Americans’ greatest accomplishment is that we found unity amidst that variety and diversity.” That is the legislative intent that has enjoyed broad bipartisan support for years.
Young Americans deserve a rigorous understanding of civics and American history. They need to understand both our successes and our failures. But acknowledging that America’s journey has been a work in progress throughout our history cannot mean ignoring the tremendous strides we have made together. Our nation’s youth do not need activist indoctrination that fixates solely on past flaws and splits our nation into divided camps. Taxpayer-supported programs should emphasize the shared civic virtues that bring us together, not push radical agendas that tear us apart.
We request that you withdraw these Proposed Priorities and refocus on civic education and American history programs that will empower future generations of citizens to continue making our nation the greatest force for good in human history.
Sincerely,
Mitch McConnell
Senate Republican Leader
