How and Why Joe Biden Opposes Patriotic Education
Of all the executive orders that newly elected Joe Biden swiftly enacted, nothing is more indicative of his anti-American animus and radical left-wing influence than his revoking Trump's "1776 Commission" to promote "patriotic education."
The 1776 Commission to Create a Patriotic History Curriculum is in direct contrast to the "1619 Project," which reflects a decidedly anti-American, factually incorrect, and blatantly biased program currently being pushed through the U.S. education system.
The mission of the 1776 Commission is "to defend the legacy of America's founding, the virtue of America's heroes, and the nobility of the American character." But the left continues the mendacious onslaught of falsehoods about America.
Considering the people Biden is choosing to assist him, this move should come as no surprise.
After all, Susan Rice, his incoming domestic policy adviser, views America as a racist nation. In fact:
[I]n 1986 she wrote an 86-page book titled A History Deferred, which claimed that because most U.S. students were 'taught American history, literature, art, drama, and music largely from a white, western European perspective, their grasp of the truth, of reality, is tainted by a myopia of sorts.' Hence, '[t]he greatest evil in omitting or misrepresenting Black history, literature, and culture in elementary or secondary education is the unmistakable message it sends to the black child,' Rice elaborated. 'The message is 'your history, your culture, your language and your literature are insignificant. And so are you.'
Susan Rice's presence indicates that we are headed for Obama's third term with Biden as a mere figurehead.
In truth, the "1619 Project rewrites American history to teach our children that we were founded on the principle of oppression, not freedom. Nothing could be further from the truth. America's founding set in motion the unstoppable chain of events that abolished slavery, secured civil rights, defeated communism and fascism, and built the most fair, equal and prosperous nation in human history."
That an American president would find it palatable to replace American history with a blatantly "leftist warped, distorted and deceptive one" is a frightening portent.
Other radical left-wingers include secretary of defense nominee Lloyd Austin, who said that if he is confirmed, he will "rid our ranks of racists and extremists." By "racists and extremists," he is referring to white male Trump supporters.
And for the first time in our lives, free speech is about to be criminalized — the ultimate leftist dream come true.
All of Biden's edicts flow from this abhorrence of American ideas. Clearly, his actions are meant to efface every MAGA achievement by President Trump. Biden is quite willing and eager to rob Americans of their birthright.
In his final speech, President Trump asserted that
Now, as I leave the White House, I have been reflecting on the dangers that threaten the priceless inheritance we all share. As the world's most powerful nation, America faces constant threats and challenges from abroad. But the greatest danger we face is a loss of confidence in ourselves, a loss of confidence in our national greatness. A nation is only as strong as its spirit. We are only as dynamic as our pride. We are only as vibrant as the faith that beats in the hearts of our people. No nation can long thrive that loses faith in its own values, history, and heroes, for these are the very sources of our unity and our vitality.
At the center of this heritage is also a robust belief in free expression, free speech, and open debate. Only if we forget who we are and how we got here could we ever allow political censorship and blacklisting to take place in America. It's not even thinkable. Shutting down free and open debate violates our core values and most enduring traditions.
These ideas stand in utter contrast to the left/Marxist/communist ideology, which is all about identity politics, not liberty and justice. Government by consent is an anathema to the totalitarian left.
Indeed, "[f]or far too long American students ... have been taught to consider America to be a hateful, racist country instead of a republic [which is] a government ... designed to be directed by the will of the people rather than the wishes of a single individual or a narrow class of elites." Elites like these, perhaps?
Moreover, Biden is on board for the diversity and equity theories of the left. But the 1776 Report clearly states that "by dividing Americans into oppressed and oppressor groups, activists of identity politics propose to punish some citizens ... while rewarding others. This new system denies that human beings are endowed with the same rights and creates new hierarchies with destructive assumptions and practices. Members of oppressed groups are told to abandon their shared civic identity as Americans and think of themselves in terms of their sexual or racial status." Such "diversity training programs which are based on identity politics often use a person's race to degrade or ostracize him or her."
Nonetheless, Biden's "cabinet nominees, whether in health, finance, environmental policy, or education, have declared that eradicating systemic racism is their top priority. How this agenda will play out has already been adumbrated in the CDC's initial priority list for Covid vaccinations: hold off on vaccinating the elderly, despite their higher risk levels, because the elderly are disproportionately white. Racial quotas will become even more the order of the day than now. The diversity obsessives in the federal science bureaucracies ... will now redouble their efforts to treat a researcher's race and sex as scientific qualifications in the awarding of federal research grants. Expect to see any mention of merit or excellence denounced as a form of bigotry[.]"
The charge about systemic racism is standard leftist offal. It flies in the face of the fact that "Kamala Harris is not only our first female vice president but also the first Democratic vice president who is a person of color." Thus, "her charge of 'systemic racism' would make it impossible for her to discharge the duties of her office because she would not be eligible to vote or serve in public office if it were true." Moreover, "systemic racism would require the interposition and nullification of the 15th and 19th Amendments to the Constitution [but] these facts do not matter."
Because so many Americans are unschooled concerning the major foundational American ideas, they fail to see that "the degradations of individuals on the basis of race expose the lie that identity politics promotes the equal protection of rights." In essence, "identity politics denies the fundamental tenet of the Declaration of Independence, that human beings are equal by nature."
So what exactly would newly elected President Biden find problematic or offensive with the 1776 Project? It does not align with his values or the beliefs of his radical leftist allies.
In the past 50 years, leftists have taken over the schools, and the endgame is a total transformation of this country. The puppet-master Obama said as much. Never forget that the left is hell-bent on destroying the nuclear family and making government the "parent." We are about to see "a great socialist/Marxist reset in America in which these things will be brought to bear upon us by a radicalized leftist Democrat party. Globalism will be implemented by almost imperceptible increments."
If we continue "to fail to educate American youth about effective, representative, and limited government, the rule of law and the security of civil rights and private property" as well as a "love of the natural world and the arts, good character and religious faith" we will no longer be the "shining city on the hill" and that will be a tragedy of epic proportions.
If we do not "instill the beauty and glory of American identity," as President Trump explained, we are, indeed, in dire danger of losing who we are to the poisonous ideology that rules the leftist mind. Clearly, Biden is delighted with that possibility.
Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com.
Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.