Civic Illiteracy Is a Danger to Us All

The U.S. flag at the dome of the U.S. Capitol building on May 12, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Commentary

In my book “Toward a More Perfect Union,” I share the story of the late esteemed historian and author David McCullough and the struggle he was having with insomnia.

While talking with his doctor about why he had trouble falling asleep, McCullough said, “I have to tell you—part of it is worrying about what is happening in our country.”

What was worrying McCullough was our growing civic illiteracy—exacerbated by the lack of teaching of history and civics throughout all levels of our nation’s educational system—and how that illiteracy was affecting all aspects of our society.

If we need evidence of how pervasive this ignorance has become, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) recently released a new poll of more than 3,000 college undergraduate students that should keep us all up at night.

The poll found that only 31 percent of these students knew that James Madison was the Father of the Constitution. Only 37 percent could identify John Roberts as the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Twenty-eight percent, just a little more than one-fourth of all those polled, could correctly identify the 13th Amendment as the government action freeing the slaves.

These results led ACTA President Michael Poliakoff to remark, “The dismal results of our survey show that current students and recent college graduates have little idea of the American past or its core principles and values.”

The alarm over this civic illiteracy is bipartisan.

William Galston, former domestic policy adviser to President Bill Clinton, wrote back in 2020 in The Wall Street Journal: “Consider the formative experiences of adults 30 and younger. For them, the Cold War exists only in history books—which they didn’t necessarily read. High schools in only 31 states require a yearlong U.S. history course. ... Against this backdrop, it isn’t hard to understand why only 15% of those under 30 think the U.S. is the greatest nation on earth, why nearly half believe hard work is no guarantor of success, or why so many of them support a single national health-care program.”

One of the main contributing factors to our present political and cultural morass is this ignorance. Across our nation, there is a fundamental misunderstanding of how government works, what powers it rightly has, and how it can justly use those powers. And even if history is taught, it is done in a manner that paints America’s founders in a negative rather than positive light. Such illiteracy makes us easy pickings for those who seek to manipulate people to achieve their aims.

This danger is palpable.

To quote President Ronald Reagan from his eloquent and prophetic January 1989 farewell address to the nation: “If we forget what we did, we won’t know who we are. I’m warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in an erosion of the American spirit.”

In many ways, Reagan’s words echo the words of another former president, James Madison, the Father of the U.S. Constitution (whom only 31 percent of these students recognize as such), who wrote, “The diffusion of knowledge ... is the only guardian of true liberty.”

He also said, “It is universally admitted that a well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people.”

And that’s the rub. If we as a nation have no idea of where we have been and are woefully ignorant of our political leaders and their policies, we have no idea of where we will go in the future. Without a roadmap and vision to follow, we are headed toward driving America off a cliff that will destroy us all.

Thus, we need to heed the warnings of McCullough, Galston, Reagan, and Madison and turn back before we reach that abyss. It is imperative that we teach the next generation—and generations to follow—about our history and system of government. An informed citizenry results in a healthy nation that engages in positive discourse that respects all views. In contrast, civic illiteracy is a cancer that eventually spreads to all areas of the body—weakening it and resulting in its ultimate demise.

As Reagan said in his 1989 address, “An informed patriotism is what we want. ... Let’s start with some basics: more attention to American history and a greater emphasis on civic ritual.”

It is my hope that in the days ahead, we realize this truth and return to providing our children with this knowledge—for their benefit and for the benefit of our nation. That will help us all sleep better at night.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.