Congratulations and a sincere thank you is in order from all Alabamians to our Alabama State Board of Education (ASBE). The ASBE passed the “strongest standards on the Holocaust in the nation” according to chairman Dan Puckett of the Holocaust Commission.
As the war on history continues unabated, this is a crucial step in the right direction. We absolutely need to educate our young citizens about the Holocaust so it will never be repeated by the madmen of the future.
But after the back-slapping and congratulations calm to a mild roar, let us pause and think. We must all be sober-minded and not get caught in the social contagions of the day. Ideas are infectious. Bad ideas even more so.
History is incredibly complicated, and thus we must foster a sense of inquisitiveness about all history. Here are a few questions we don’t often ask, but need to consider:
Why, when we want to denigrate someone in the present political arena, do we call them a “Hitler,” not a “Stalin”?
Why, when we think of government overreach, do we picture a brown shirt, not a red scarf?
Why, when we think of the worst atrocities, do our minds immediately envision the Holocaust and not the Great Leap Forward, The Cultural Revolution, the Holodomor, or the Killing Fields?
Why do we use ‘Jack-booted thug’ as a derogatory term, rather than ‘Stasi thug’?
Why, when we lament the loss of human freedom and dignity, do we think of Auschwitz, not the Solovki gulag?
Why are certain histories promoted and others white-washed, or in this case, red-washed?
Sadly, we have allowed a devoted minority to intentionally red-wash our history classes, school books, discussions, our colleges and high schools, departments of education, even seminaries. A South Alabama Protestant minister even admitted to me that he read “The Communist Manifesto" and Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” at his seminary, seeing that “as a good thing.” That was a stunning admission, and he seemed proud of the fact.
If that does not shock you, I am writing this article for you.
This is the result of generations of Americans staying silent. When we stay silent, we give consent. Think of it as a marriage ceremony of ideologies: “Speak now or forever hold your peace.” By not speaking, we speak incredibly loudly.
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Silence in the face of evil is evil itself.”
Our society has memory-holed Communism, or worse, promoted it “as a good thing.”
I remember watching the Berlin Wall fall in 1989 thinking, “We won,” and, “The fight is over.” How naive. Forgive me, I was in sixth grade. Then I turned 11 and realized how wrong I was.
Today, I realize that the other side has only just begun. Socialists don't sleep.
When we stay silent, good neighbors get drawn in to organizations that they may not know are nefarious. How is it that an organization in Baldwin County, that at least in my opinion sympathizes with Marxism, hides in plain sight? The answer, I believe, is that we have red-washed our education so we don't know what to look for. Make no mistake that those in charge know exactly what they are doing and why.
The most prolific mass-murderer in human history has lived in my lifetime. How many of us know who this is? Hint: He had a “Little Red Book.”
This is not ancient history. This is 1976 stuff. He made Hitler look like a Girl Scout. That's saying something.
Who’s in charge of education or training our teachers? Why does our curriculum intentionally leave out certain histories while promoting others? Why do we hear much more about the “Fascists” than we do the “Communists” and “socialists” in 2024 America? Perhaps it’s because certain educators know the truth of what George Orwell expressed in “1984”: “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
Ladies and gentlemen of the Alabama State Board of Education, this is meant as a warning. Don’t bury the students' heads in the sand. Doing so happens at our own peril. You have immense power over the future of this state. Please show the same intentionality with ALL of history as you did with the 12-year history of one country.
Specifically, I am asking each of you to implement the same strong standards about teaching Communist history as you did with Fascist history. Simply copy and paste Florida Senate Bill 1264, passed earlier this year by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Gov. Ivey, if I can copy and paste, you can as well. Please take notes on how they are doing business in the state southeast of us. They seem to be thriving.
Thank you for a great start. The battle continues as we all have work to do.
Zach Miller is a Baldwin County, blue-collar worker. He sees the ill effects of a sub-standard public education system firsthand every day. He believes we need new, stronger and more principled conservative leadership from our elected officials in Baldwin County and Montgomery.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819news.com.
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