How Socialism Has Taken Root - Failure of Education

Socialism has gained traction in  this country because of ignorance. Our young people, who did not witness firsthand what the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and its Eastern European client states were like,  have not been taught about it accurately.  Most don’t understand that socialism means giving power to a central government which in the many examples throughout history used that power to destroy liberty. They have been led to believe by left wing educators and politicians like Bernie Sanders that capitalism is pure evil and that socialism leads to a utopia with free college and healthcare for all.  

Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, a Pew Research study found have on the whole a very poor knowledge of history.  Another study found that many  teenagers don’t know what the American Revolution was all about.  Moreover,  instead of learning that America has been the greatest force for freedom in the history of the planet that has enabled unparalleled wealth for its citizens, our young people have been taught a progressive propaganda imbuing guilt over America's shortcomings.  They have been given textbooks that focus  on the failings of our founding and road to prosperity placing emphasis on the bad treatment of  indigenous people, the condoning of slavery and  imperialism. 

Socialism can take root only where there is ignorance of its failures and atrocities in the past. It can flourish when it is falsely glorified and when a nation’s democratic history is undermined by exaggerations of its missteps instead of a truthful teaching of its successes.  Learning accurate history is essential for a free society.  We have failed to ascertain that are children are  being taught about the greatness of our county and how it has provided them with more freedom and opportunity than any other people have experienced. 

Our  hope has to be that as our large millennial population move into their middle years they will learn through experience how well a free society works for them.   There is some evidence of that already. But that hope can  be destroyed if we allow the extreme left wing to get total control of the reins of our government. Then all is lost.