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Dr. David Stolinsky, writing for OpinionEditorial, included these nuggets of wisdom in a post bemoaning the removal of our heritage, an act for which he has coined the word historectomy:
“The bad news is that a historectomy is a dangerous operation from which the patient may not recover. The good news is that the procedure can be reversed:
- We can teach the actual Constitution, not liberal commentary about it, in high-school civics classes, university political-science classes, and law-school classes.
- We can make the “Federalist Papers” and the “Anti-Federalist Papers” required reading in political-science and law-school classes. How many university graduates have even heard of them?
- We can insist that schools use history texts that are written from a pro-freedom perspective.”
I just loved his unintentional warning about the mischief that Texas School Boards are inflicting on our nation, but his point is that liberals are distorting history. The U.S. Constitution is not a difficult document to find and read, just follow this link. On this site, one can also find the Declaration of Independence in addition to introductions to the “Founding Fathers”. My personal belief is that the establishment clause, which prohibits the melding of church and state, must be balanced with the prohibition against impediments to the free practice of religion.
My position may be overly nuanced, and I may be tiptoeing through bullshit, extremist positions like those advocated by Dr. Stolinsky represent the greatest immediate threat to liberty our nation has known. This notion of the evangelical right, in particular, that freedom means the right to conform and liberty is an unalienable right of Christians, is terrifying. The reality that those very same people are successfully encoding this bullshit in history and civics texts is nothing less than an academic overflow of the United States. The Constitution was, in fact, written by largely Christian men. This nation is, without substantive argument, a nation of Christians. But it is not a Christian nation.
This Constitution, written by religious Christians does not mention God, Christ, or Saint. Outside of one reference to rights endowed by “the Creator”…nothing else. Thomas Jefferson mentions “The Laws of Nature” and “Nature’s God at the outset of the Declaration of Independence, but never comes close to a religious reference afterwords. Stolinsky’s faith in teaching “The Federalist” (interesting that he argues for the collection’s teaching but does not know the collection’s correct title), is intriguing. “The Federalist” argued passionately for ratification of the Constitution, but largely against the adoption of the Bill Of Rights. His great equalizer would, in fact, rob his conservative movement of no less an item than the 2nd Amendment.
Progressives need to aggressively re-brand freedom and liberty, before the conservatives rewrite Merriam Webster as well…
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Michael Chase publishes The Rational Middle
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I’ll bet the good Doctor hasn’t read the Treaty of Tripoli, which was sent to the floor of the Senate, June 7, 1797, where it was read aloud in its entirety and unanimously approved. John Adams, having seen the treaty, signed it and proudly proclaimed it to the Nation.:
Art. 11. As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen (Muslim); and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
If all of this was nothing more than wishful thinking on the part of conservatives, we could all laugh it off. But as the Texas School Board has shown us, these people are making their dreams of conservative revisionist history a reality. This should be a concern for all of us.
Good article indeed. It is frightening to me how history is getting changed. It is simply fear of other races “taking over.” I am hopeful the decision in TX will not be followed elsewhere.
The decisions in Texas will be followed throughout much of the country. The Texas textbook market is so large, that it necessarily creates a pull through of its standards into smaller state markets. This is one of the reasons for the intense conservative pressure on school boards, and the heavy attention paid to the Texas process. The decision is, I believe, a decisive strategic victory for revisionist conservatism, and a decisive defeat for progressive causes that equals or exceeds the effects of losing the House and Presidency in one cycle.
It is that bad…
Or that good… depending on your point of view.
My belief is that the rewriting of history started in the 60′s, by the liberals. The good doctor’s article spoke to that belief. The revisions are now in the process of being undone, not made.
Hey Tommy…it has been quite a while. Any particular revisions you are referring to?
To quote from the article that you linked to:
? Today’s kids read history books that describe America’s past as questionable at best, and evil or genocidal at worst.
? Today’s kids mumble a few of the words to the first verse of the National Anthem at sports events. Forget about the fourth verse, the one that mentions (gasp!) God.
? Today’s kids are taught that the founders were deists, not really Christians — that is, if religion is mentioned at all. (Regarding slavery, Jefferson wrote, “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just…” Does that sound like someone who believed that God created the universe, then went on vacation?)
? Today’s kids are lucky to place the Revolution or the Civil War in the right century, much less the right decade.
? Today’s kids identify Grant as the man on the $50 bill, not the man who led the Union to victory and thereby ended slavery.
?· Today’s kids are taught to observe Flag Day by marching with the flags of the nations from which their ancestors came. They learn respect other nations, not our own.
? Today’s kids are forbidden to hold Christmas programs in schools, but instead they observe Mexican Day of the Dead and Cinco de Mayo. Instead of E Pluribus Unum, they are taught “multiculturalism,” which means to respect other cultures, not our own.
? Today’s kid’s see movies depicting our leaders as scheming warmongers, and our military as sadistic morons and oppressors.
? Today’s kids see clergy depicted as idiots or molesters, if they see them at all, and religion shown as an oppressive force. But this refers only to Christianity ? extremist Islam is not mentioned, much less criticized.
? Today’s kids, and even law students, are taught that the Constitution is a “living document.” That is, it has no fixed meaning, and means whatever a judge says it means today. Law that is arbitrary and unpredictable loses its claim on our respect ? or our obedience.
In short, the current generation of Americans has been taught little of the foundations of their country. And what they were taught was often negative. What they saw in films and on TV reinforced this negative impression.
Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers.
Socrates
The founders were deists at best. See my first post in this thread.
Sure seems that many members of clergy ARE molesters, and it could be argued that they are idiots.
The Constitution isn’t a “living document”? Well damn… guess it’s time to go buy a few slaves…
Has the “current generation been taught only negative? Uh. No. But the negative sticks, and throughout US history there’s plenty of it to go around.
Unless you happen to write Texas school books.