After a year of following my son's public school US History curriculum I am thoroughly convinced that the "study of history" in schools today is nothing more than progressive indoctrination.
His school curriculum has called into question the integrity and motives of our founding fathers and the sincerity of their commitment to liberty. It has demonized our nation as a purely imperialistic colonial power with the blood of millions on our hands. It has characterized American foreign policy as parasitical, teaching students that American influence in the world has exploited the resources of other nations to enrich ourselves.
The curriculum admitted that Capitalism has worked to create great economic growth and technical advancements but also taught students that it did so at a very heavy price. They were taught that Capitalism causes greed, social injustice, manipulation of the government, social divisions, and corrupts society through materialism.
The curriculum managed to accentuate every detail of the World Wars that would lead students to believe that we were ultimately responsible for the rise of dictators throughout the world, that we were responsible for sparking the Cold War, and that we fueled a nuclear arms race.
The final culmination of this curriculum is to undermine the morality, prosperity, and general happiness of the 50's by drawing parallels between fascist movements in Europe and the "conformity" of 1950 America. The cohesive culture, intact families, and rising prosperity of that time are represented as an outgrowth fanciful panic caused by the great "red scare" and a national patriotic need to inculcate conformity to oppressive social norms.
I have tried hard to find the good in this curriculum, and while at times there is some lip service paid to a stray virtue of our Republic, Capitalism, and Christian culture, these instances are immediately undermined by the constantly present filters of moral relativism and multi-culturalism.
The good news -- my son is seeing the duplicity and fallacies in the world view that governs this curriculum. Today he schooled me on exactly how his classmates are able to draw parallels between fascism and traditional cultural values. He then pointed out the crafty deception that exists in a curriculum that delegitimizes the best contract for individual freedom ever created, the constitution; topples the cultural pillars that sustain this individual liberty, namely adherence to moral law; and tears apart the fabric of our culture, which is fidelity to traditional family life; only to replace the values of freedom and morality with counterfeits that will lead to cultural destruction and tyranny of collectivism.
While I am greatful to have a mature 15 year old capable of sorting out this mess (aided by a constant vigilance at home to education in the principles of freedom and morality), I greatly doubt there are very many American youth who will escape this thorough secular progressive indoctrination. This should be a serious concern for every American who believes in the greatness of our constitutional republic, free market, and traditional family culture. Abraham Lincoln's words that, "The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next," should be a sobering warning in our generation.
