In the corner of my home library/study sits the rocking chair in which my mother rocked me after birth. Several years ago, mom had it beautifully refurbished. Certainly, a family heirloom, it is also a reminder from whence I came. It also symbolizes the care and affection my mother provided.
It was bought brand new in 1954 just to rock me, mom’s first born. One unusual feature: it has no armrests. So, mom relied solely on the strength of her arms to hold all eight pounds, eight-ounces of me as we rocked – throughout the day – and at all hours of the night. Imagine the love, strength and commitment it took on her part to accomplish that task. That rocker is part of my history and its preservation has been left in my care.
Much has been written about how generations of Americans do not love, much less even know, their country’s history. We were warned in the early 1990s when the Clinton Administration unleashed the forces of political correctness by adopting radical education standards for teaching history for grades five to 12 with the Goals 2000 Act. Under these radical guidelines the teaching of American history was changed. For example, George Washington makes only a fleeting appearance and is never described as our first president. The establishment of the liberal Sierra Club and the pro-abortion National Organization of Women are considered noteworthy events, but the first gathering of the U.S. Congress was not.
The warning signs have been evident since the landmark 1992 study at UCLA that encouraged stronger standards for how American history and Western Civilization are taught. They were ignored and we have progressed from the political correctness advocated in the Clinton years to the current diabolical “1619 Project,” which teaches America’s founding was not in 1776, but when slaves first arrived in 1619, an assertion that even liberal historians reject due to its inaccuracies.
Meanwhile, Marxist critical theory has been injected into the veins of American education, teaching one group of people to blame/hate others. History departments have been hijacked by radicals who have politicized subject matter. This has greatly contributed to the polarized environment plaguing America. Karl Marx once said, “Take away a nation’s history and they are more easily persuaded.” America is divided because too many do not know who we are anymore.
David McCullough, one of America’s great historians who recently passed away, observed that we – as a nation – must understand who we are and where we are headed. The proper teaching of history makes us better citizens (something that pleases God). It will cause us to behave better, making us more thoughtful and understanding human beings. Neglect invites calamity.
In a speech, given at Hillsdale College in April 2005, McCullough described his encounter with a history student during a visit to the University of Missouri. “I had a young woman … tell me that she was glad she came to hear me speak, and I said I was pleased she had shown up. She said, ‘Yes, I’m very pleased, because until now I never understood that all of the 13 colonies – the original 13 colonies – were on the east coast.’ Now, you hear that and you think: What in the world have we done? How could this young lady, this wonderful young American, become a student at a fine university and not know that?”
Too many Americans no longer believe in absolute truth. Teaching history can be challenging because it can change as new discoveries are made and our understanding deepens. Rejecting truth makes teaching history more difficult because truth is whatever one makes it (think Russia hoax).
We must do a better job of teaching our teachers. They should forgo education degrees and get degrees in the subject they want to teach. In addition, the teaching of history should begin in the home. We who are parents and grandparents should be taking our children to historic sites. We should be talking to them about books and events. One of my fondest memories as a young man was spending time with my Uncle George, who was a fighter pilot in World War II. He shot down four Japanese fighters over the South Pacific on Christmas Eve 1943. A painting of that dogfight – and of him – hangs in my study at home. Heirlooms? Yes, but history as well.
The greatest history book ever written is the Bible. Yes, it is infallible, inerrant and sufficient, but it is also history. In Joshua 4:1-7, we are told how after wandering the desert for 40 years, Joshua led the people of Israel into the Promised Land. When the Ark of the Covenant entered the Jordan River, the waters were cut off, and the people walked through dry land. God told them to build a monument with stones from the dry river bed. Why? To be a memorial forever, so that future generations would never forget what God had done for His people.
The Creator expects us to remember and teach history accurately.