Posted on 07/03/2008 5:44:02 PM PDT by The_Republican
WASHINGTON -- Just in time for Independence Day, a conservative think tank has delivered a controversial report questioning whether America's national identity is eroding under the pressure of population diversity and educational slackness.
The threat outlined by the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation in its report, "E Pluribus Unum" strikes me as a bit exaggerated. But at a time when Barack Obama and John McCain find themselves debating the "patriotism issue," having a coherent discussion of this matter -- and this short pamphlet is admirably written and well-researched -- is a useful contribution.
The takeoff point for the argument is an observation about the uniqueness of America that was made by Thomas Jefferson -- and by myriad other worthies in the centuries since then. They all have drawn attention to the fact that, unlike other countries, America's national identity rests "not on a common ethnicity, but on a set of ideas."
And so, the Bradley scholars say, "knowing what America stands for is not a genetic inheritance. It must be learned, both by the next generation and by those who come to this country. In this way, a nation founded on an idea is inherently fragile."
The ideas that define this country are found in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, as amplified by Supreme Court decisions and statutes in subsequent years. Those ideas have been tested in crisis and in war, and the leaders who steered the nation through those testing times are the heroes whose legacy we celebrate -- Washington, Lincoln, the two Roosevelts.
What disturbs the Bradley scholars is the evidence that our generation is failing to educate the next one on the essentials of the American experiment.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
Some very good points made. Those who are for ‘change’ need to better understand that the deviance from those stellar principles are what leads a country to strive and chaos.
From Bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage.”
— Alexander Tyler (Lord Woodhouselee, Alexander Fraser Tyler a Scottish historian/professor who wrote several books in the late 1700s and early 1800s.)
God give us men. The time demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and willing hands;
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honor; men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue
And dam his treacherous flatteries without winking;
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty and in private thinking.
— Josiah Gilbert Holland. 1819-1881
Broder is weak as a Liberal is expected to be.
He says he has faith in America and proof is 1974 when Nixon was forced to leave office.
His other claim is that Young people voted in record numbers in record number in recent primaries.
I don’t see how those two claims counter the fact that younger generation and new immigrants are IGNORANT about American History and its founding ideals.
Some tremendous quotes! Thanks for sharing!
agree 100% we are very fast becoming the tower of Babel, and is a self imposed erosion of our American identity,
we do not seek a common launguage or identity that past generations aspired to.
Still, I have access to a number of language translators on the internet that opens up almost the entire world for me ~ if not for you.
This is half the answer, children are not learning is school about America, They are more likely to get anti-American rhetoric and socialist dogma that American history. They now have parents who were similarly "educated".
Unless they learn from their parents, the children are unlikely to ever learn. In the 1950's children watched entirely different television than we have today. Sex in the City has replaced The Dick Van Dike Show. Movies are even more worthless, they will learn about American corporations poisoning the environment and gangbangers shooting each other (hell, they can likely look out the front door for that).
I’m not really worried about us because of the constitution.
I am worried about Europe. It is dying husk.
From Bondage to spiritual faith;(1775-1830)
From spiritual faith to great courage;(1830-1870)
From courage to liberty;(1870-1930)
From liberty to abundance;(1930-1985)
From abundance to complacency;(1985-2000)
From complacency to apathy;(2000-present)
From apathy to dependence;(2009-future)
From dependence back into bondage.”(2009-future)
— Alexander Tyler (Lord Woodhouselee, Alexander Fraser Tyler a Scottish historian/professor who wrote several books in the late 1700s and early 1800s.)
"...evidence that our generation is failing to educate the next one on the essentials of the American experiment."
Could possibly explain the only two viable candidates for POTUS this cycle.
All the warnings George Washington gave us in his farewell address concerning political parties have come home to roost in spades (sic - no double entendre intended)!
< snip > On the 2006 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Civics Test,” the report notes, “the majority of eighth graders could not explain the purpose of the Declaration of Independence. Only 5 percent of seniors could accurately describe the way presidential power can be checked by Congress and the Supreme Court.” < snip >
QUESTIONS:
1. In the different states, do the kids study these documents just during one year or continually?
2. If a kid skips a grade due to their test scores, could they miss this information entirely?
Question 3.
If the material is covered only during one or a few lessons, if the kid is out sick or a field trip or something, is it possible he/she could miss it entirely?
Question 4.
There are some requirements to graduate out of lower grades in some places. Is not history one of these required subjects, or is this where ‘social promotions’ are highest?
The US is no where near crumbling.
All the negativity is because there is a Republican in office. If there was a rat in office birds would be singing again and everything would be just fine.
It used to be that when a citizen did something unconventional (that wasn’t hurting anyone else), other people would just shake their heads and say, “well, it’s a free country!” It worries me that I rarely hear that anymore — now, it’s much more likely for people in the same circumstance to say “there should be a law!”
My independence day resolution is to do my part to bring back “it’s a free country.”
Exactly.
Reminds me of the story of a famous Klinton supporter. Ron something.
When Klinton took oat of office, there were some Jets that did the usua fly-by.
One of his supporters utterred an ANTI-MILIARY line.
Ron something said, hey that’s one of ours now.
David Broder - No.
(I did that in spanish so everyone could understand)
LOL! Gracias!
What does that have to do with the U.S. having a common language creating a cohesive bond that brings us all together?
As for the new "immigrants" who refuse to learn English should we be required to supply them with the internet and computers so they can access those sites?
Most of us usually only learn to speak one language with any facility.
At the same time I know that the current "world language" is English. Anyone really important enough for me to communicate with knows it. Those who aren't of any importance to me may not know it, but I don't care.
Still, I have the technology and enough facility with several languages to use the on-line translators to survey what the non-English enabled foreigners are doing.
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