Leading off this week’s curation, former Senator Orrin Hatch argues that America’s civics education crisis – which has been exacerbated by the promotion of ideologically-charged history such as the 1619 Project and a disproportionate focus on STEM in secondary education– is acute. He touts the Civics Secures Democracy Act, new bipartisan legislation that promotes many recommendations offered in a recent Hatch Center report, as a way to revitalize the teaching and study of civics in the United States. With increasing attention given to protecting the freedom of speech, Edwin C. Hagenstein focuses on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Texas v. Johnson, an important case that helped prepare the ground for our current cultural clashes. Hagenstein contends that by overturning a Texas law that prohibited flag burning, the Supreme Court undermined political self-government, because the ruling took away the opportunity of the people in the states to promote reasonable moral limits on actions taken in the public square. Wilfred Reilly, the author of a 1776 Series essay, “Why Woke History Is Not the Answer,” notes that though prejudice and racism still exist in the United States today, this fact shouldn’t overshadow the extraordinary work Americans have undertaken to ban segregation and discrimination over nearly the past 70 years. According to Reilly, “Seven of the wealthiest eight ethnic groups in the U.S. today are populations of color”; overall, he says that “it is not, objectively speaking . . . hard for a person of any skin tone to ‘make it.’” Gordon Dakota Arnold explores Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge’s strong belief that the Senate “filibuster was a wise practice and that its annihilation would ‘alter completely the character of the Senate.’” As Arnold argues, the filibuster follows “naturally from the structural philosophy of the United States Senate, which [Lodge] revered for its emphasis on deliberation, minority rights, and traditionalism.” Original Posts Edwin C. Hagenstein, RealClearPublicAffairs Essential Reading Michael Zuckert, National Affairs Polls of the American people regularly show that the most valued and admired part of the Constitution is the Bill of Rights. Given that... Wilfred C. Reilly, Commentary The world is imperfect, human beings are imperfect, and racial prejudice is still a feature of American life in 2021. These are hard... In the News Pamela Stallsmith, Richmond Times-Dispatch Jeanne Allen, Forbes Sam Dorman, Fox News Rafeal Bernal, The Hill Steve Blank, RealClearDefense Stephen Sawchuk, Education Week U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton Gordon Dakota Arnold, Law & Liberty Robert Barnes & Ann E. Marimow, Washington Post Liz Norrell, Heterodox Academy Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Max Eden, American Enterprise Institute Madeline Zehnder, History Today Orrin Hatch, Utah Policy George R. Tyler, RealClearPolicy Clarence Page, J.D. Vance, & Bob Woodson, Woodson Center Moderated by Bob Woodson, this important discussion with J.D. Vance and Clarence Page explores how communities facing... Chris Flannery, American Story This story is about a teacher from a college in the East who was inspired by her travels West, especially by her experience summiting... J. Christian Adams & Rick Esenberg, Bradley Foundation On this episode of We the People, J. Christian Adams, president and general counsel of the Public Interest Legal Foundation and the... William A. Jacobson, Lucas Morel, et al., Legal Insurrection “It’s really important that people do something. I almost don’t care what you do, but do something. And when we have millions... Argosy Film Group A history program created by animators from Pixar, DreamWorks, and Sony's Spider-man into the Spider-verse explores... Ranee Braden & Stuart McLaurin, 1600 Sessions The first White House guidebook was published in 1962 as a collaboration between First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, the new... Michael McConnell & Mike Lee, Hoover Institution Michael McConnell is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Richard and Frances Mallery Professor of Law and the director... Carl Cannon's Great American Stories By the time you read this, Hideki Matsuyama will have returned the green jacket he won at August National Golf ... Today's date is a reminder that the progress this nation has made on race did not come without a struggle ... In the face of a new spate of mass shootings, President Biden is unveiling a series of executive actions today ... |