A recent discussion over at my Facebook page about the Obama speech for school children tomorrow got me to thinking. I am picking on conservatives because of a remark made by a conservative when responding to this line in Obama’s speech: “You'll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free.” The comment was that he should have stopped this line with the word homelessness.
I love history. It was always a favorite subject of mine in high school and college. It’s fascinating to see the events of the past come to life. Where we are today was shaped by the events of the past and the past is a fantastic teacher. Hardly anyone would deny that.
Conservatives are very quick to point to history when arguing their ideals. They like to conjure up the founding fathers and how they created one of the greatest nations the world has know. They remind us of victories against evil and injustice in the world. They talk of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and all of the events that lead to their birth. And that is all well and good. I think these are great things to remember and look back on. But we cannot stop there.
Our history also has a dark portion. It is full of stories that we are ashamed of and that shaped many of the ills we still live with today. That is why Obama’s line can not end with homelessness. We do have to use history to fight discrimination. Education is very important in the fight against crime. And knowing where we came from will help us to make this country more fair and free.
We can not pick and choose what history we will use to make this a better country. I don’t think we go overboard to either side, but take it as a whole. Yes, our founding fathers set the stage for us. They got some things wrong, but a framework was created to undo those mistakes. However, we can not take a great mistake and injustice such as slavery and say “that is in the past and we need to move on”. It is not that simple.
It is because of slavery and all that went along with it that we still live in a country that discriminates against people of color. It is because women were not allowed to vote for so long and were relegated to much less than men that we still see gaps in wages paid to men and women doing the same work. If we sweep these things under the rug, try to forget they happened and “just move on”, we will never defeat these great evils that so threaten the concept of freedom.
As for his comment including “crime”, there is a direct correlation to crime and lack of education. When we are uneducated and do not understand how our country and our laws work, we are more apt to criminal activity. From gangbangers to white collar crooks, a lack of understanding of the morals built into our way of life (this is where social studies comes in) can be to blame. I have no problem with him addressing this.
These things are not partisan issues. These are American issues. If we are the people we say we are, we can beat back these injustices. Do we need the government to do it for us? No, we do not. But just because a President you do not like mentions these things, and calls for action, makes them no less true. George Bush called for the same things, as did Presidents on both sides before him. We do a great disservice to our fellow Americans and the office of the Presidency by disagreeing with the good things he says because you don’t like him for other reasons.
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