What kind of future will the United States have if young people are taught to hate their country? It's not a happy prospect. Yet, from all accounts, that's exactly what's happening.
Ask sixth graders what they know about George Washington, and they're likely to respond, "He owned slaves." While that statement is true, it's only one part of Washington's story.
As someone who speaks a lot about the school system, I find this very troubling. I have always considered our deep love for this country—patriotism—to be a significant part of what makes this country the "greatest country in the world." Now, I see that patriotism seems to be sabotaged, of all places, in America's classrooms. For example, the idea that America was formed in racism in 1619 rather than in freedom in 1776. This narrative is taught in over 4,500 schools, where students are often not given a balanced view of history, leading to a skewed understanding of our nation's past.
Are they succeeding? From what I've observed, patriotism still thrives in much of the country, especially in Kentucky. You can feel it under the lights at Friday night football games as the crowd stands for the Star-Spangled Banner or as everyone in the classroom stands for the Pledge of Allegiance.
However, this sense of patriotism is fading, and in many places, it's disappearing altogether.
Patriotism is not just a feeling; it's the glue that holds America together. Patriotism is a recognition of the sacrifices it took to build a country like America. To love America is to embrace the values it stands for, primary of which is freedom—the value America is more recognized for than any other country in history. It's this shared love for our country that unites us, putting our differences aside and cultivating a sense of national identity.
Values such as freedom of speech, the freedom to practice religion, and the freedom to pursue personal interests with minimal to no government interference unite Americans. These values, laid out in our founding documents, are what make America America. They are not just words on a page but the very essence of every single one of us.
Ronald Reagan once said, "You can live in France without ever becoming a Frenchman or in Turkey or Japan without ever becoming Turkish or Japanese. However, anyone from any corner of the globe can come to the United States and become an American."
That's because America is based on a set of ideas; nothing else matters.
What happens if America loses that patriotic spirit? If this occurs, Americans will stop viewing themselves as individual citizens united by a standard set of morals and start defining themselves based on their race, ethnicity, religion, or gender. America could soon begin to resemble the very places we once fled.
Am I suggesting that America is perfect? No one has ever made that claim. However, before you judge America too harshly, consider comparing its history to that of other countries like Germany, Russia, or China. From that perspective, America looks pretty darn good. The closer you examine it, the better it gets.
Three times in the twentieth century, America helped rescue the world: in World War I against German militarism, in World War II against the Nazis and the Japanese Empire, and the Cold War by defeating Soviet Communism.
Yes, Americans love to celebrate, but perhaps the most important day in the American calendar is not marked by victories. It's Thanksgiving, a day dedicated to gratitude, for good reason. Everyone living in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave—any American with common sense—has so much to be grateful for.
Regardless of how we got here, the whole world has benefited from the hard work and good choices made by Americans: choices like declaring independence, establishing a republic, ending slavery, and fighting fascism and communism.
That's what should be taught in our schools. If we want to preserve America, we need to encourage love for it, not hate.