Why the United States Can’t Survive

Why the United States Can’t Survive

Education; Economy; Culture/Morality/Religion; Media; Political Parties; Apathy

 I -Education

A)     Pride VS. Embarrassment

The United States was found on an idea. The idea was radical at the time but one that is taken for granted today by most Americans. The idea was that man has a God given right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The idea that the individual is the foundation of self-rule and that no group of individuals has a right over any other group was a concept for the founding of a new government seen as revolutionary and radical at the time, and in some countries it still is.

The reason I open with a chapter on education should be obvious. If this country was founded on an idea, it can only survive with a thinking people. And a thinking people can only survive if they are willing to educate posterity to perpetuate the idea.

If you go out and ask ten people a question to name two of our founding documents, you would be lucky to get 4 of 10 that could name them. Ask someone under the age of 25 and you may get 2 out of ten. It might depend on the neighborhood you are in when asking the question, but it is disturbing how little time our education system spends on the founding of this country.

There is a propensity for educational bureaucrats to harbor guilt about the United States. Too often the people that develop public education curricula are being lobbied by small special interest groups to include topics in history and civics that spend a disproportionate time on other systems of government. These topics squeeze out the time needed to support the survival of this nation.

There is often a knee jerk reaction to talk about how history is written with a bias and kids spend time analyzing whether Columbus was a villain or a hero? I have no problem with analytical thinking and the importance of defending and debating positions. But in order to formulate counter positions to the American Experience, you need to know the American Experience inside and out. What we find in public education is embarrassment about our success and a reluctance to highlight our status as a force for good. Instead we hear about colonization, hording of resources, and a wrath of charges that need context to be properly understood.

This nation can’t survive without pride and understanding of the journey to the current state we find the United States. I am confident saying we will not survive if we are not willing to teach the citizens of this nation about the morality and positive contributions the United States has made to the world. By continuing to focus on the warts of history, we guarantee our demise as a nation.

There are no signs we are making any significant impact in this area. The education system is now being led by teachers that have been the product of this limited teaching of the founding principles of this nation. It cannot support a healthy future for this nation.