The Curriculum of a Revolution

Apparently, the revolution will be televised. Or at least it will be on Twitter and Facebook for regular consumption.  It looks like we are in a moment that will be looked on fifty or a hundred years from now, as a turning point, or at the very least a line of demarcation.  People will say, "That was before 2020" to point out the significant changes that have taken place after  tumultuous year of pandemic and uprisings.  The desecration and razing of statues, the movement to defund police, the Twitter mobs that swarmed prior innocuous symbols with a fervent call for them to be removed or erased, and the zeal to approve of such things, surely feels like a significant moment.  But, when one analyzes the situation, the reason for all of this is obvious and readily understandable.  In fact, it makes perfect sense.  It is the logical outcome of three distinct, yet interwoven movements, that have originated in the classrooms of America's educational system.  The toxic, corrosive, and destructive nature of this curriculum can be summed up as anti-American, anti-capitalist, and Post Modern.

For the last thirty or forty years, the story of America as taught by American educators has changed substantially.  It initially began in the 60's with the "boomers" but progressed exponentially through the 80's and 90's.  The idea of American Exceptionalism was replaced by a curriculum that attempted to make America the "boogeyman" for all of the world's ills.  People like Howard Zinn and his A People's History of the United States provided a revisionist version that portrayed America as racist, evil, and corrupt.  American intervention in any international issue was was described as jingoist, greedy, and with ulterior motives.  To many young American school children, they were fed a narrative that colored America in a very shameful light.  While at the same time, not using the same standards to judge any other country within the same context.  All of the evils of the world from war to racism, from economic failure to persistent poverty, from environmental degradation to sex trafficking, America was often the guilty party.  So, when a person has been told all of that for 12-16 years, it is little surprise that the young people are eagerly destroying and demolishing statues and the culture they represent.  Although, to be honest, I think many engaged in such activities are doing so for the mere fact that they can.  If America is so horrible, so racist, so evil, why in the world would so many people of color risk their lives and move to America?  Maybe, America ain't that bad...

There might not be any subject in school that is so poorly taught than economics.  Because of this, capitalism is usually taught from a negative point of view and more than often becomes the scapegoat for all of societies ills.  The problem is pervasive that even the highly educated don't really understand essential economic truths.   Capitalism is usually blamed for exploitation of the "worker" by rich and nefarious white people with monocles and stove pipe hats.  All the while, the people providing the criticisms are also enjoying many of the fruits of capitalism.  Unfortunately, many people mistake basic human attributes as a malignant symptom of capitalism.  However, greed, envy, slothfulness, and the like existed well before capitalism was even an idea and exists in all societies.  What gets lost in all of the stupidity, is that capitalism is ultimately about individual economic liberty to pursue what is most important.  Individual liberty, unfortunately, is seen as a key player of systemic racism and therefore must be curtailed by righteous governments who know how to ensure a more just society.

Equally corrosive, or perhaps more so, is the post modern philosophy that is so pervasive in American education.  Essentially, post modernism denies the existence of an absolute truth in favor of a personal narrative.  This line of thought allows one to construct a "truth" that needs no facts, no evidence, and no logic.  Moreover,  if you are an "oppressed" group, meaning a minority, or a female, or a non-biological female, or a homosexual, your narrative is more truthy than any other and demands immediate acceptance.  The least truthy is that of a white, Christian male.  Don't ever try and criticize the truth of an oppressed group or you will be surely be labeled a hate filled wretch.  When truth no longer is a standard, then there is no mechanism to prevent error or false claims, which ultimately leads to a host of ill conceived ideas.  This reckless idea has already born so many issues, but most notably is the inability to realize one's own bias.  This is evident in the mainstream media, which has no interest in finding the truth, only finding ways to maintain their narrative.  

When one believes that the country they live in is inherently evil, that the economic system is equally corrupt, and there is no filter to identify the truth of one's claim, then there is surely going to be some malcontents.  All of what we are seeing is not some aberration, but is the logical outcome of the system that we have designed.  In other words. the chickens are coming home to roost.