By Nancy Thorner & Bonnie O'Neil -
Mark Twain said, “If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.”
Most objective people know his words were not just witty, they were true. That is largely due to the many ways and means the news can now be delivered. Newspapers compete with television programming, telephones, radio, and the internet. Thus, Twain’s concerns about misinformation spreading is even more of a concern in today's vast and varied communication network. Various sources continually compete with one another for our attention. To do so, they take liberties that border on deception.
Misinformation in schools
Misinformation is likewise a problem in our nation’s schools. Parents have less control over what is taught than they had decades ago. Grandparents are especially concerned with the liberties schools take when addressing cultural issues. They have seen the changes and are therefore more aware of what they believe to be subtle, but dangerous indoctrination practices that parents might not perceive.
Our schools, from Kindergarten through college, are noticeably different than they were even 15 years ago. What began as subtle changes in school curriculum has exploded into blatant indoctrination tactics, where students are rarely taught our nation’s strengths.
What are children learning in 2021?
Legislation pending in Springfield, Illinois known as the REACH Act ( HB 1736 and SB 647 ), would require every school-age child in Illinois public schools to be introduced to homosexuality and cross-sex impersonation through mandatory “comprehensive sex ed.” Doing Planned Parenthood's bidding, lawmakers want to expand "comprehensive" sexuality indoctrination, which currently starts at sixth grade to start in kindergarten.
The Biden administration is taking new steps to promote Critical Race Theory and The New York Times’ controversial 1619 Project in US education programs. In a proposed federal rule, the US Department of Education indicated that it will be using taxpayer funds to award millions of dollars in American history and civics education grants that prioritize the belief that America is systemically racist.
The grant program seeks “projects that incorporate racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse perspectives into teaching and learning,” and refers to President Biden’s Inauguration Day executive order that explains how our country is plagued by “systemic racism” and “deserves an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda” to address this issue.
The new federal proposed rule refers to the 1619 Project and related curriculum resources as a “landmark” model for US history and civics education, despite its agenda-driven hostility against capitalism, its flawed historical analysis that many scholars have deemed false, and the Times's own correction of the project.
As to the Critical Race Theory, it seeks to view all social and cultural issues through the lens of race and racial identity, and to cast all human relations in terms of power structures related to that identity. It is a collectivist notion that puts the group above the individual and pigeonholes people as either oppressor or oppressed.
The history of Critical Race Theory is rooted in Marxist thought and began to gain traction in academic circles in the early to mid-20th century through the “ Frankfurt School” before spilling over into the broader culture near the turn of the millennium.
Change has been gradual
We are experiencing today the result of those gradual, effective, anti-American changes in our school's curriculum. The indoctrinating of students, rather than teaching facts and allowing students to decide, has resulted in negative changes that may prove irreversible. We are learning the hard way the reasons why most once great nations finally fail. They rot from within.
This sad dilemma bean happening decades ago in our colleges and universities, and then spread in some form into our grade schools. Most parents were unaware of changes in teaching and curriculum that had been introduced in schools from first grade through college. Thus, vulnerable children were taught positives about Marxist philosophies and Leftists propaganda.
A majority of colleges and universities began hiring Leftist thinking teachers decades ago. The curriculum quickly changed from teaching the positives of our nation — its strengths and successes — to that of criticizing and/or maligning most everything about it. Thus, generations of our children were taught most everything wrong with our nation, but very little as to all that was amazing about the government our forefathers gave us and preserved for them. And there were excellent reasons for the success of the United States, how and why we became a World leader. Why that was rarely mentioned in classrooms from grade school to Universities deserves to be investigated.
It should be of concern to know that several generations of Americans are now functioning in various professions in our nation, with a distorted vision of the Unite States, one very opposite of that taught their parents and grand parents.
While no country, state or city is perfect, and negatives can be easily stated about each and every country in the World, the fact is the United States prospered because our wise forefathers provided us excellent examples, rules, and regulations that allowed that prosperity to continue.
Questions parents should ask
So, what, how, and why are those positive, established facts and views not being taught in all our schools today? Why are schools spewing mostly negatives about the USA to classrooms of our children? Why are our elected leaders not more concerned about teachers and professors who are misleading our children about something as essential as our nation’s success story. We are a leader in the World, not just by our “might”, but by the brilliant wisdom of our forefathers who provided the amazingly successful groundwork and plan that allowed us to grow, prosper, and be known as World leader.
Parents are largely unaware of what is happening in schools and classrooms across the United States. Parents who do know, and dare to complain, are either ignored or marginalized.
As such, leftist teachers and professors continue to persuade our children to embrace their Leftist ideals. Most no longer feel a need to hide their agenda, believing it is they who know best, further knowing they will be supported by their superiors and authorities if necessary.
Is a reversal possible?
Can this tragic, Leftist indoctrination in our schools and many media sources be reversed? Maybe … if there are still enough patriots alive and willing to learn the facts, study the issues, understand the Leftist agenda, and then demand that a more fair and balanced approach to subjects of importance be mandatory in classrooms across the United States.
Checking the schoolbooks of our grandparents and great grandparents would be a good way to see the differences in what is being taught today in schools in contrast to the education of our recent ancestors.
The alternative is another generation of American children who will be in lockstep with current Leftist extremists.
The longer we wait to deal with the current trend, the more difficult it will be to capture the truth, facts, and ideals of those who built our nation, to assure that this nation remain the world leader.
American patriots who know this to be true must not give up. We must do our best to get the truth, facts, and credible information to as many individuals as we can, while we can. Consider the millions who died in the line of military duty so that our nation, our way of life, would survive.
Now it is our generation’s obligation to “Keep America Great” for our children, grandchildren, and theirs. We must not be the generation that forfeits what we inherited from our forefathers.
