We’ve come to a very important crossroads.
When Google is free to influence elections without interference or challenge by limiting free speech from some and not from others… When the New York Times can influence our children with their hypothetical made-up narrative of the 100-page “1619 Project”… When activist/anarchists are allowed to burn, loot, and destroy other people’s property without fear of being held accountable for their actions… When police are being defunded… It’s time for a correction. Or, as Ronald Reagan would say, it was time to put a stop to this the day before yesterday.
The 1619 Project proclaims our country is racist to the core and was founded on slaves in 1619. It has already been added to the history curriculum in 3,500 U.S. high schools with an aim to rewrite history. Many historians have challenged its accuracy, but their words have fallen on deaf ears. They are pushing their narrative, just like they pushed the Russian collusion narrative. Honesty or accuracy does not matter. It’s not the point.
The biggest problem facing America is the riots across the country and specifically, what those riots represent. They want to remake America in a Marxist image, and how opportune for them, during a pandemic no less. How can they think it’s right to tear down historic statues and monuments? Were they not even aware it was Abraham Lincoln who freed the slaves when they toppled his statue? Those are OUR kids rioting in the streets. Where did they get the idea that it was OK to smash, loot, burn and destroy others’ property? From our liberal teachers, I expect. I believe universities are the root cause of the insurrection plaguing our country. Case in point: Washington and Lee University in Virginia now offers students a course titled “How to Overthrow the State.”
According to the Washington Times, liberal professors outnumbered conservative professors 12-1 in 2016. According to Jerry Bergman, a professor for 45 years, today that has risen to 17-1. Of the top-rated liberal arts colleges, 39% do not have a single registered Republican professor. In anthropology departments, the Democrat to Republican ratio was 133-1, and in social science departments the ratio was 133-0.
Students being taught by radical professors, where our kids learn contempt for ideas that don’t coincide with what their teachers teach them, are the real problem. John Ellis, a professor since 1966, authored the book, “The Breakdown of Higher Education, How it Happened, the Damage it Does, and What Can Be Done,” which explains how ideological brainwashing taking place in college classrooms has given birth to Marxist movements like ANTIFA and Black Lives Matter. Conservative guest speakers are met with protests and often not allowed to speak or in the least shouted down by protesters on college campuses.
To complete their agenda, pro-criminal, anti-police prosecutors have been elected or appointed in close to a dozen American cities and counties, and residents are paying the price. The radical, anti-police activists have infiltrated district attorney offices. As riots, looting and violent crime spikes continue in Democrat-run cities, we are living through the violent consequences. Portland, Oregon, had violence in the streets for more than 100 days in a row. Lawlessness and chaos have been allowed to dominate, and the city’s left-wing leadership has been ineffective in restoring peace. Property has been destroyed and residents have been terrorized, without prosecution. Police put their lives in danger trying to protect residents and property, only to have the DA’s turn the activists/anarchists loose to repeat the same. The mayor told the police they are no longer allowed to use tear gas to disperse violent crowds, which of course is the least harmful way to accomplish that. Surely that adds fuel to the already tense situation and his message to the rioters is that they have free reign.
The mayor, Ted Wheeler, talks out of both sides of his mouth. He says the right things (like protecting citizens is his main priority) then goes right ahead and does the opposite (like telling the police to stand down) and then to top it off, the DA refuses to prosecute those who have been arrested. It’s a no-win situation for police and residents. The same thing has been going on in Baltimore – street robberies are up 27%, assaults are up 22% and murder is up 65%. Thanks to the ineffectiveness of Chicago’s Democratic leaders, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, as of Sept. 1, there have been 505 homicides this year – nearly twice as many as in the same time frame in 2019. Over Labor Day weekend, there were 10 murders, and 51 people were shot in 38 shootings. Since President Donald Trump’s Operation Legend, federal agents have arrested more than 500 people and the murder rate has been cut in half.
I don’t think the riots have anything to do with the death of George Floyd or Black people being killed by police. They chant that Black lives matter, but don’t say boo about 51 Black people shot in Chicago on a single weekend. So which Black lives matter? According to Breitbart, in the first half of 2020, 27 police officers were feloniously killed, as opposed to 24 unarmed suspects killed by police. Of the 24, 10 were white, seven were Black, three were Hispanic and four from other races. In 2019, 48 police officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty compared to 55 unarmed suspects killed by police. Of those, 25 were white, 14 were Black, five were Hispanic, and 11 from other races. Facts matter. These facts matter.
According to the New York Post, today’s schools teach only the ugliest parts of U.S. history. Educators have all but abandoned the mission of E pluribus unum, of instilling a sense of common history and culture. Thomas Jefferson wrote that a strong early grounding in history would ensure that these future citizens would cherish and sustain the republic the founders won for them and that apprising them of the past would enable them to judge the future. We weren’t so divided when our schools were a source of solidarity that encouraged a national spirit and culture. Our patriotism and freedom is what made our country great. E pluribus unum – out of many, one. We were all different, but we were one nation under God. Before we were Black or white, or Irish or Scottish, we were Americans first and foremost. In order for children to care about America, they need to be taught about America’s greatness as well as its faults.
Today, the radical left wants to replace our free market with socialism or communism and replace our history with their current ideology, so they are attempting to tear down our history. The rioters are too young to understand that the end result will be more centralized power with competition for brute power. All they have to do is look at what’s happened to Cuba and Venezuela to see where they are headed.
Many of the violent mobs tearing down cities are doing so in opposition to systemic problems in our criminal justice system. According to Newt Gingrich, there is a systemic problem, but it is not racism. The problem is rising pro-criminal, anti-police leadership.
We need to change the ratio of liberal to conservative teachers and elect more constitutionally minded leaders. I am not advocating for a one-party system, that would be disastrous, but we need more balance in education and government. America may not be perfect, but it’s certainly worth fighting for.
Beverley Scott
Valencia
