R. I. P. American History

  I believe I have found the root of the problem in America of our citizens leaning more and more toward socialism and communism. As I was surfing news sites I came across this article on FoxNews.com by Joshua Rhett Miller that exposes a large number of America’s top liberal arts schools do not insist on students taking courses in American History. What? How is that possible. You cannot produce students who will stand up for and believe in America without instilling in them an idea of the sacrifices made and the principles upon which our nation was built and why. Oh sure they had history in high school but it is the collegiate level, where students are encouraged to be critical thinkers and examine the depths of the events in our history, that reasoning and understanding can lead to the discovery on a personal level of the importance of the events in the era within which they now live. At the collegiate level they can discover why conservatives are up-in-arms over the governments intrusion into our privacy and why we hold that privacy to be sacred. It is at the collegiate level where the student can begin to comprehend the value and benefit to the nation as a whole of maintaining a capitalistic society. It is at the collegiate level where our young citizens can get their mind around the destructiveness of socialism and communism and why our conservative citizens ardently strive to keep those ideals out of our government.

  Our young people in college are being let loose to study trivial subjects at a time when their minds are ripe and receptive to learning. If we continue to allow them to be taught things like “History of Electronic Dance Music,” or “Decoding Disney: Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Animated Blockbuster” (both actual courses offered in lieu of American History at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine) instead of requiring them to delve into the annals of American History then we are failing the next generations.

  Teaching American History is so very important to the future of our country. Without it we are doomed to fall into oblivion when liberal forces try to remove our constitutional rights as they are actively attempting even now. “Constitutional rights.” We hear that term every day but without American History it is unlikely our children will understand why we have those rights and why they are so very important to the survival of the American way. Why it is important to have uninfringed news reporting, or giving each American the right to voice their beliefs and grievances. Why it is important to allow each of us to follow our own religious beliefs, or the importance of law-abiding citizens to maintain their right to own and bear arms. 

  As I watch the current administration in Washington trample upon the Constitution and enact policies which bring our economic freedom to the precipice of destruction I am ashamed of our universities and colleges, where once was the flame of free speech and tolerance allowed to burn ever so brightly, there now stand bastions of intolerance and nearly Stalinist silencing of the peoples voice.