Teaching Ignorance

I see lots of online posts these days asking how in the world socialism has become the preferred economic system for so many Democrats. After all, you’d have to be deaf, dumb, and blind to miss the incredible damage socialism has done in places like Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to name just a few recent examples.

What could lead to such a total denial of reality?

It’s no mystery really. For a long time now, our schools have recast America as the bad guy in world history. They’ve pretty much expunged any reference to the success of capitalism, the importance of democracy, and the valiant struggle for freedom waged by our founding fathers. They’ve twisted and distorted so much of history that the contributions of past American patriots, and the events that prove American exceptionalism, have largely vanished.

Civics, the study of how our Republic works, is given a fleeting once-over and the vital importance of our three branches of government is hardly mentioned. The study of how our government legislates, adjudicates, and executes — and how those three branches work together is nearly completely ignored. Ask any college student today to name the three branches of our federal government and you’ll be lucky if one in 10 gives you the right answer.

Instead of meaningful studies in history and civics, classes about sexual preference are given top billing along with histories of “oppressed peoples,” and third-world nations. Nothing necessarily wrong with those, but not particularly useful on the resume and they most surely do not contribute to any form of meaningful future. The history of gay-ness isn’t going to help you land a good job with a promising future — unless you’re the person teaching it.

The study of economics, and even the basics of how money works, is missing from our classrooms. No wonder young people today believe so blindly that socialism is the way of the future. How else to explain the idea that private companies are bad, big government is good, and individuals can’t be trusted with personal freedom?

And how else to understand their zeal for a “green new deal” that requires the federal government take over our economy and doubles federal spending with absolutely no plan to pay for it.

Teachers and professors teach our kids that economic equality, political correctness, and humanist philosophy are all vital to a successful and happy life — that each student is entitled to a “perfect" life whether they care to work for it or not — and that anyone who stands in the way, is their real enemy.

Consider the reaction to Donald Trump’s election … classes canceled, safe spaces established, puppies distributed, anyone wearing a MAGA hat could be cursed and even physically abused; all because Hillary didn’t win.

The vast majority of teachers and professors today do not encourage competition, do not stress the importance of working for what you get. Rather they consider equality the ultimate good. And to them, equality means everyone receives exactly the same no matter how hard or how little they work.

I read recently about a teenager who happened to be a straight A student. One day she complained to her father how unfair it was that he had so much compared to the homeless people.

The father replied, “OK, but let me ask you a question. What grade is your friend Betty getting in chemistry?”

His daughter answered, “Betty gets mostly D’s.”

Her father then suggested, “Well that doesn’t seem fair. Why don’t you give Betty part of your grade so that she gets a B and you get a B. Then you’ll be equal.”

The daughter fired back, “That’s not fair dad, Betty hardly works at all and I work my butt off.”

“Exactly,” said her Dad. “True fairness requires you get what you earn.”

Socialism is exactly the opposite of fairness. You don’t get what you earn. You get less, most people get a great deal less. In fact, the only equality you can count on with socialism is everyone ending up equally miserable.

Socialism is an economic wrecking ball that’s brought nothing but misery, poverty, and even death wherever it’s been tried. Given its very plain history, it’s almost unbelievable our schools teach that socialism is both fair and good. It’s denial. It’s ignorance. Still, sadly, it’s true.