Amid criticisms that the books pay too much attention to traditional American values (whatever those are) and don't give enough space to the touchy-feely kumbaya crap that passes for so-called social studies these days, there is another interesting point of contention.
Known as the idea of "American exceptionalism," it suggests that the United States is exceptional, unique among nations worldwide not only for the way in which it was founded but for the way in which its people govern and are governed.
The renowned author Joyce Carol Oates takes exception to the notion of exceptionalism as noted by FOX News reporter James Rosen in his 'blog:
"[T]ravel to any foreign country," Oates wrote in the Atlantic Monthly in November 2007, "and the consensus is: The American idea has become a cruel joke, a blustery and bellicose bodybuilder luridly bulked up on steroids...deranged and myopic, dangerous."
Oates continued: "American exceptionalism makes our imperialism altruistic, our plundering of the world's resources a healthy exercise of capitalism and 'free trade.'
"From childhood, we are indoctrinated with the propaganda that America is superior to other nations; that our way of life, a mass-market 'democracy' manipulated by lobbyists, is superior to all other forms of government; that no matter how frivolous and debased, our American culture is the supreme culture, as our language is the supreme language; that our most blatantly imperialistic and cynical political goals are always idealistic, while the goals of other nations are transparently opportunistic."
Ms. Oates' remarks would be amusing if they weren't partly true as well as offensive. She is right that our leaders over the past 50 years have meddled in the affairs of other countries when they'd have been better off tending to business at home. She's also right that our culture leaves much to be desired. But I'm bothered by the notion that we are "indoctrinated with the propaganda that America is superior to other nations" and that our government -- in its ideal form -- is somehow not superior to others.
If these things are true, then why do we even have the illegal immigration problem I 'blogged about previously? Why do so many people risk life and limb to come to this country, even at the risk of being found out and turned back?
Would anyone bother to leave everything behind for a destination that was unremarkable? Unexceptional?
I think not.
The Texas SBOE has its share of idiots now with a conservative majority just as it did before when the liberals drove the boat. Textbooks are routinely found lacking in substance as well as fact and that's one of the reasons I don't use them in our homeschool. If you want to know what slavery was like, read the biography of a former slave. If you want to know what the Founding Fathers really thought about things, read their writings. If you want to know what a particular religious denomination believes, read its faith-specific texts. And if you want to know the truth of history, be prepared to read the same story from many different sides.
Alas, no textbook will give a student all the sides. It's no wonder, then, that kids come out of 12 years of public school with either a one-sided view of the most important ideas in western civilization or no view at all.
And for the record, I've travelled to other countries -- one of them communist -- and I'll go to my grave declaring America to be exceptional, the best, the only one worth dying for. Look at photos of Arlington National Cemetery or the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France and you'll see I'm in good company.
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