The last few years have been a wake-up call for American families across the country on what their children have been learning and, at the same time, have not been learning in our nation’s public schools. From failing math scores to plummeting literacy rates, the state of our education system is perhaps the worst since the creation of the public school construct.
Thanks in part to the COVID lockdowns, parents got to see what their students were learning in place of arithmetic and phonics. Everything from critical race theory to gender ideology has been funneled into the national curriculum due mainly to the teacher’s unions and diversity consulting firms making bank on brainwashing our children.
So it is no wonder that so many young Americans from school age to my age cannot function in regular society, let alone understand the difference between Communism and socialism. Some states have put in place mechanisms to right this ship. However, the Virginia state Senate’s objections to teaching the dangers of Communism are bizarre, to say the least.
.@DelJAvoli presented HB 1816, requiring that students learn about the dangers and victims of communism. What did @VEA4kids have to say?
Just listen. We can't do it justice. You can't make this stuff up. https://t.co/5Akexs58yD pic.twitter.com/MUabRPOnMe
— Virginia House GOP (@vahousegop) February 15, 2023
We Wouldn’t Want to Offend
Virginia Delegate John Avoli proposed House Bill 1816, which would include not just basic knowledge of Communism in History and Social Studies courses in the state but also the dangers associated with Communism. The bill would also require the Governor to proclaim November 7th a Victims of Communism Day, requiring the state’s public schools to honor the over 100 million victims of Communism.
It seems reasonable. After all, we have entire months dedicated to other particular aspects of history; how could it be considered harmful to ensure that one day out of the year, public school students take time to understand the actual impacts of Communism over the years?
According to one of the state’s teacher’s unions, to do so could discriminate against Asian Americans. Research coordinator for the Virginia Education Association (VEA) Emily Yen said of the bill, “Four out of the five current communist regimes are countries that are in Asia. We are concerned that this bill would subject Asian American students to anti-Asian sentiment and we think that we would oppose this bill.”
And just like that, politicians folded to Big Education, as usual.
If your child attends the University of Minnesota, you may want to check in on them.😡
Parents you need to spend some extra time teaching your children about the real dangers of socialism and communism. It has caused tens of millions of deaths worldwide. pic.twitter.com/myYcr58lYl
— 👑💥 Serenity 💥👑 (@polishprincessh) February 11, 2023
Flawed Argument
The idea that we shouldn’t teach aspects of history and current events because it may lead to discrimination against a demographic of students would require our society to cease teaching any part of history or current events. But, unfortunately, we live in a time when anyone from any group can find offense with anything, including food.
Ms. Yen’s argument is nonsensical and implies that our children are incapable of understanding the difference between what communists have done and currently do in the name of their flawed political construct and their Asian-American peers. Not only is that insulting, but quite telling if true.
On the flip side, some arguments against passing this bill were based more on the current state curriculum standards that claim Communism is already taught. Currently, in Virginia, Communism is taught in two sections:
- the rise of totalitarianism and the conflicts and revolutionary movements in Asia
- prominent leaders, including Mao Zedong, Chiang Kai-Shek, and Deng Xiaoping in China and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam
So why the push to codify the teaching of the dangers of Communism?
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than the others"- George Orwell's Animal Farm. Best allegorical novella on the reality and dangers of Communism to this day.
— Ravi Soysa (@RavindaSoysa) February 20, 2023
A Cold Civil War
Recent polling proves that you can teach basic facts of a concept, but unless you include critical thinking and analysis, you can still miss the mark completely. For example, in 2019, a YouGov poll found that more than a third of millennials approved of Communism.
Before you brush that off as just young and dumb ‘kids,’ remember that your favorite spicy political commentator is a millennial. It’s true, I’m considered a millennial, and I’m certainly no spring chicken.
In that same poll, 57% of 23 – 38-year-olds believed the Declaration of Independence better “guarantees freedom and equality” than the Communist Manifesto. That’s just over half of those in my age group who think one of our most important founding documents is a better blueprint for freedom than the Communist Manifesto.
Fast forward to 2021, and 28% of Gen Z Americans have a favorable view of Communism, with another 30% favorable of Marxism. Only a third of this same generation of Americans understand that the Chinese Communist Party has killed more than Nazism.
Think about that for a second. That essentially means that statistically, some of that third still views Communism favorably, even knowing the extent of killing in its name has taken place.
This surge in popularity for Communism has prompted some on the right to claim we are in the midst of a ‘cold civil war’ against ‘woke communists.’ Interesting to think that the term ‘woke’ and ‘communism’ would be such cozy bedfellows.
https://twitter.com/crouchendcom/status/1626745826260254720?t=XzDeecGEQ3iXUNS5l-a2DQ&s=19
RELATED: Joy Reid Works Overtime to Stoke Flames with Race-Based Attacks on DeSantis, Mocking Jesus
Conformity, a Tempting Drug
Virginia isn’t the first state to attempt the push to dedicate a day to victims of Communism or codify teaching the dangers of Communism in school. Last year Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill requiring Florida public schools to dedicate at least 45 minutes to teaching the dangers of Communism.
This coincides with his proclamation that November 7th be dedicated to “Victims of Communism Day.” For those of you who also had a terrible public school that taught little to nothing about history, November 7th marks the Bolshevik revolution and, thus, the founding of the Soviet Union.
Among other things, the Florida bill requires teaching how Communism leads to “poverty, starvation, migration, systemic lethal violence, and suppression of speech.” All valuable lessons given the left’s push to silence speech and demonize hard work and wealth.
Arizona has a similar bill, and recently Louisiana Senator John Kennedy submitted a similar proposal. But will any of this be enough to change the minds of millennials and Generation Z?
Doubtful, given the stronghold Big Education has on our youth. As one political science professor said, “…capitalism is clearly and undeniably failing. It’s directly responsible for the climate catastrophe and everybody knows it.”
That is an interesting argument, given that China produces far more pollution than the United States. But, the truth is capitalism is challenging, as most things in life that are worthwhile tend to be.
My generation and those that follow have been taught to dislike hard work and perseverance. We lack the ability to understand that life isn’t meant to be fair and that resilience is taking the hits and getting back up again.
Bill Maher rips “gullible” millennials for their “stupid” ideas:
Defunding the police is “less of a policy position and more of a leg tattoo.”
“Pining for communism is like pining for Betamax or MySpace.”
pic.twitter.com/KlWa4V2vfC— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 25, 2021
So naturally, relinquishing responsibility for our lives and futures to allow Big Government to control our destinies is alluring. But, unfortunately, my generation and those that follow don’t understand the price you must pay for this drug.
Adlai Stevenson said, “Communism is the death of the soul. It is the organization of total conformity – in short, tyranny – and it is committed to making tyranny universal.” So the question remains, are we too late, or are we all losing our souls to the woke communists?
Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”