I noted the importance of respected historians speaking up and it appears
David McCullough is already actively making the valid case regarding the relationship between understanding history and maintaining liberty. At least that's a start. McCullough's not an academic historian but his work is widely read and highly regarded. It appears he's being supported by
The National Endowment for the Humanities, Lynn Cheney's old group. I'm not foolish enough to expect an agency of the federal government to make our case for us, but the NEH does offer grant money to Southern historians who could.