OPINION:
I and I think many others who attended school when real history and real civics were taught believe such courses should still be mandatory (“Make American civics courses mandatory in schools,” Web, July 3). Growing up in Virginia, we even had a mandatory Virginia history course.
One of the pillars of communism is to erase or rewrite a society’s history, thereby erasing any basis on which to judge what is to come. Without points of reference from the past, your lens to the future has no comparisons to make. It’s like working with a very young child who has no experiences; you can tell them to do just about anything. This applies to adults who have neither knowledge of our nation’s history — warts and all — or any concept of how we are governed or how our system evolved.
I have always been a student of history, and it’s amazing to me how much ignorance there is about our heritage. As one of Joseph Stalin’s advisers is reported to have said, give me the schools and I will give you a country.
President Ronald Reagan’s “shining city upon a hill” was more than just a speech; it was a reflection of our nation’s history and leadership in the world. Europe would not be the Europe it is today, Japan would not be the thriving nation it is today without the United States stepping up and leading during World War II.
It’s time we returned to education, not indoctrination. Facts, even the uncomfortable ones, need to be taught — without revision and modern interpretation. The past never changes, so let us move forward again proud of our country’s accomplishments and its evolution.
PATRICK HAMP
Oak Hill, Virginia
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