Friday, September 16, 2022

Constitution Day and our Woefully Inadequate Education System

Years ago, I received a text from my college-educated daughter on September 17th, saying  "Happy Constitution Day, as I know you are a fan, Dad."  My response was something to the effect of, "How come you and so many Americans today are not fans, considering that is the very document that codifies your liberties and restrains a potentially tyrannical government from usurping them?"  My daughter, unfortunately had succumbed to the leftist indoctrination of our educational system in college and now sees America as an unjust and racist nation.  

 

This is the quality of our educational system today with the ridiculously erroneous attempts to rewrite American history with largely debunked political diatribes such as the 1619 project.  Leftist professors are free to pontificate on the evils of America to a captive audience, and anyone asking critical questions is automatically mocked at best, or intimidated and chased out of school at worst.


There are a few strongholds of educational integrity left though.  Hillsdale College is one of these that teaches classical liberalism and the humanities.  They proudly teach American history and civics to all of their students in an unbiased fashion.  Further, they accept no money from the federal government whatsoever, including in the guise of students using federal aid for student loans.  They do this so as to have complete academic independence so as not to be beholden to leftist government bureaucracies demanding that their dictates be followed in the educational process.  


From time to time, Hillsdale College will send out emails to me.  I wanted to share this one as such endeavors in regaining control of our educational system from leftists may be the only way we can save America.  If your are so inclined, look into this and see if you might be interested in supporting Hillsdale College and our United States Constitution!

 

Following is the email I received:

 

 


Dear Mr. Michaels,


September 17 is Constitution Day—the day in 1787 that the members of the Constitutional Convention, meeting in Philadelphia, signed the final draft of the American Constitution. 

 

America’s Constitution endured for more than two centuries—longer than any other constitution in human history—because it was brilliantly conceived and based on the principles of liberty in the Declaration of Independence.

 

Today, however, certain parts of the Constitution have been completely subverted.

 

For instance, many of the functions intended to be carried out by our elected representatives are instead in the hands of unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats.

 

And some of the remaining parts of the Constitution—including the fundamental rights of free speech and freedom of religion in the First Amendment—are seriously under attack.

 

Underlying these efforts to destroy our Constitution is the movement in American schools and universities to push a false and dishonest account of American history. This account portrays our nation as essentially racist and irredeemably unjust.

 

It’s no surprise, then, that a recent Rasmussen poll found that over half of President Biden’s strong supporters think the Constitution “should be mostly or completely rewritten.” 

 

Or that two law professors—one from Harvard and the other from Yale—wrote an op-ed in The New York Times titled “The Constitution is Broken and Should Not Be Reclaimed.” 

 

American education has become a battleground, and reviving a proper understanding of American history and a proper reverence for the Constitution—especially among younger Americans—has become one of our most urgent priorities

 

You are already a generous and reliable supporter of Hillsdale’s educational efforts on behalf of liberty.   

 

That’s why I’m asking you to join Hillsdale’s Liberty & Learning Society today.

 

Liberty & Learning Society members are vital to our expanding efforts to educate citizens (especially younger citizensabout American history, the importance of the Constitution to liberty, and free-market economics. 

 

Joining the Liberty & Learning Society is easy. 

 

Members commit to an automatic, recurring monthly gift of $5, $10, or even $20 or more each month, which automatically advances the important work of reaching and teaching additional millions of citizens on behalf of liberty.

 

Most members give in the $25 a month range, but we are grateful for every single member at whatever level they can afford. 

 

In these trying and uncertain times, when so much is at stake, we have set an ambitious Constitution Day campaign goal: 1,200 new Liberty & Learning Society members by midnight on Constitution Day, September 17. 

 

When you join, you become a partner in educating additional millions of Americans about the principles of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and America’s great heritage of liberty through efforts like our free speech digest Imprimis, our free online courses, and our expanding work in the area of classical K-12 education

 

By joining the Liberty & Learning Society, you also help us reduce fundraising expenses and maximize the impact of every dollar given.

 

Hillsdale has a tradition of and a reputation for being wise with our resources because we are almost unique in refusing to accept even one penny of government funding—not even indirectly in the form of federal or state student loans and grants.

 

All of Hillsdale’s work depends entirely on the support of individual citizens who understand the importance of our educational mission on behalf of liberty.

 

Will you consider being one of the 1,200 citizens we need to sign up for the Liberty & Learning Society before midnight on Constitution Day? 

 

You can learn more about and join the Liberty & Learning Society using this secure link:

 

https://secured.hillsdale.edu/hillsdale/constitution-day-liberty-learning-society

 

And if you accept my invitation to join Hillsdale’s Liberty & Learning Society on or before September 17, I’ll send you a link to a session of our upcoming free online course, “Understanding The American Founding: A Conversation.”

 

We are deeply grateful for your support of our ongoing work to recover and preserve liberty and limited government for future generations of Americans. 

 

Warm regards,

 

 

Larry P. Arnn

President, Hillsdale College

Pursuing Truth and Defending Liberty Since 1844

 

P.S. I’m grateful for your steady and reliable friendship, which is why I hope you will join our automatic monthly giving group, the Liberty & Learning Society, before midnight on Constitution Day, September 17.

 

When you do, you will become our partner in educating additional millions of Americans about the principles of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and Americas great heritage of liberty.

 

Joining is simple, safe, and convenientlearn more at this secure link:

 

https://secured.hillsdale.edu/hillsdale/constitution-day-liberty-learning-society

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Constitution Day is the perfect time to remind everyone that Thomas Jefferson said we should rewrite the Constitution every 20 years.

In a letter written to James Madison from Paris just after the French Revolution had broken out, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) argues that any Constitution expires after 19 years and must be renewed if it is not to become “an act of force and not of right”:

“The question Whether one generation of men has a right to bind another, seems never to have been started either on this or our side of the water… (But) between society and society, or generation and generation there is no municipal obligation, no umpire but the law of nature. We seem not to have perceived that, by the law of nature, one generation is to another as one independant nation to another… On similar ground it may be proved that no society can make a perpetual constitution, or even a perpetual law. The earth belongs always to the living generation… Every constitution, then, and every law, naturally expires at the end of 19. years. If it be enforced longer, it is an act of force and not of right.”

Jerry said...

Classic liberalism always included logical thinking. Something that is sadly lacking today, which could end some of this foolishness.

Darrell Michaels said...

Anonymous, Madison and our other founders provided a way to change that constitution through the amendment process when necessary. It was intentionally made to be rather difficult so it would not be altered for light and transient reasons based on foolish trends or fashions of the moment. Further, the constitution itself was written so as to LIMIT government, while enshrining citizens' rights. ONLY those things written in the constitution are the responsibilities of the government. All other rights and responsibilities belong with the states or the people.

No wonder the left wants to "re-write" and scrap our constitution. It restricts leftism. As Obama said, it is a document of "negative liberties". Negative, because it restricted him from using government to do much more than what it was legally entitled to do. It was a impediment to him "fundamentally transforming America". Nowadays we ignore it altogether. That is why a charlatan and crook accepting bribes in the form of business transactions from China, Russia, and Ukraine can sit in the White House now. It is just one of myriads of reasons why he should be impeached too.

Jerry, you are absolutely right regarding classical liberalism. Indeed I can respect and support "liberals" as defined by the current usage of the term, even when I disagree with them. It is the leftists that HATE our country and want to dismantle it; not liberals. Leftists have no use for liberals that are not fully supportive of their agenda, while us conservatives are deemed as outright fascists.

Darrell Michaels said...

Oh, and by the way Anonymous (AKA Dave Dubya), I guess I should be flattered that you cannot stand staying away from my site while still telling out-of-context stories or outright fabrications about me on yours and other sites. Needless to say, your comments do not impact or bother me. Those that have read both sides of the our past debates know the truth, and frankly deep down... so do you. Now please abide by my request and stay off my site, sir. Thank you.

Green Eagle said...

Hillsdale College is nothing but one tiny little corner of the gigantic right wing propaganda machine created by sociopathic billionaires to crush the life out of our country.

Darrell Michaels said...

Green Eagle, thanks for your comment.

That said, your complaint is akin to the star high school quarterback complaining about the only cheerleader in school that has enough sense and self-respect to not sleep with him.

If you want a school to teach revisionest 1619 history, gender studies and other equally useless and false areas of studies, nearly every other college in the nation will be there to help you out. (hence the nation's problems...)

Jerry said...

It's no wonder parents are choosing private schools given the poor state of public schools.
Our public schools were the best in the world for a very long time. It's easy to see the school policies over the last 30 years are to blame.
School taxes are the biggest part of my State taxes and I get depressed every time I write the check.
What about the philosophy of public schools? Is that idea worth saving? We have been doing it for over 200 years. Maybe we should fix the problems instead of just giving up on the idea.

Jerry said...

I agree with what you said, but a government voucher won't be enough to pay for some of these private schools. Some of these schools are very expensive and rightfully so because of their product quality.

Darrell Michaels said...

Perhaps scholarships or fundraisers can help make up the difference between the voucher amount and private school tuition for some limited cases. Perhaps we can even shame some of these leftist universities like Harvard and Yale whom are sitting on multi-million dollars endowments to provide scholarships for the disadvantaged to get them a chance to succeed in a private or charter school.