A country whose citizens fought and died for freedom should teach its children about the evil those citizens fought against.
Linda McMahon, secretary of the U.S. Department of Education (ED), issued guidance to government schools to strengthen instruction on the history and dangers of communism and socialism.
The National Day for the Victims of Communism is on November 7. According to ED, more than 100 million people died under communist regimes.
Students should learn about the Soviet gulags, for example, and China’s Great Leap Forward. They should understand what happens when the government controls livelihoods, suppresses dissent, and treats human beings as expendable.
Give me liberty or give me death? You better believe it.
“At a time when young Americans are expressing positive impressions of socialism in record numbers, it is more important than ever for students to learn and understand the devastating human consequences of communist and socialist regimes,” Secretary McMahon said in a statement.
ED highlighted states already teaching this history, including Florida and Texas. The department said it’s not mandating a curriculum.
“We must ensure the next generation values freedom, individual liberty, and the constitutional principles that have made America the greatest nation in the world – otherwise, we risk repeating the tragedies of the past.”
Freedom of speech, religious liberty, and individual rights are worth defending to the death. Have we forgotten?
Photo credit: By David Shankbone – Own work, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
