4/11/2023

Last week’s curation at RealClear’s American Civics portal starts with Brenda M. Hafera’s look at what’s being taught to visitors at Colonial Williamsburg. At RealClearPolitics, Hafera notes that “while visitors will leave with knowledge of British history and what life was like during the 18th century, they won’t hear much about the accomplishments of those who led the American Revolution.” In fact, she writes that the historical site lacks a clear, cohesive “articulation of Williamsburg’s story, of what happened there, and how it fits into the great American story.” She argues that American history is taught through the lens of group rights, various trades – and even the New York Times’s 1619 Project. For example, one visitor Hafera interviewed said that a character actor asserted in a performance that centered around Lord Dunmore’s proclamation: “This country is here because of fear of black people getting their liberty.” As Hafera argues, “There’s no historical basis for such a claim.” As she closes, “Preserving our historic sites is about perpetuating the principles upon which America was founded, so that we may preserve ourselves as a self-governing people.”

In the Carolina Journal, John Hood comments on the surprising findings of a recent Wall Street Journal poll. Only 38% of Americans think that patriotism and community values are "very important" to them. Hood notes more bad news: “there’s a huge generation gap: 60% of people aged 65 or older are intensely patriotic vs. only 29% of those under 30.” Of all the explanations for these low numbers, Hood argues that the one that makes the most sense is alienation. “Far too many Americans,” Hood writes, “feel they’re no longer welcome in their own country – or, alternatively, that they were never welcome.” To put it simply, “There’s nothing approaching a consensus about what it means to be an American.” He ends with this reflection: “Is America a shining city on a hill, an imperfect but ever-brightening beacon of freedom in a benighted world? Or is America a bright, shining lie? Too many would say the latter. We need to change their minds – or, more to the point, their hearts.”