Fortunately, many Americans are waking up to the existential threat that Marxists pose to our nation’s children and the United States as a whole.
Commentary
Socialist ideology has been spreading through the United States’ children and young adults like a cancer. That cancer has only continued to metastasize as Marxist ideologues continue their march through all educational institutions and consolidate their grip on power, forcing out educators and administrators who do not march to the rhythm of their dirge.
Fortunately, however, many Americans are waking up to the existential threat that Marxists pose to our nation’s children and the United States as a whole. And their state lawmakers are beginning to take strong action.
On April 17, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed
Florida SB 1264. This monumentally important bill, titled “History of Communism,” represents a first-of-its-kind legislation designed to roll back Marxist indoctrination in the state of Florida and educate young Floridians about the evils of socialism, communism, Marxism, and collectivism in general.
SB 1264 accomplishes three primary objectives.
First, it improves existing communist curriculum standards. Beginning in the 2026–27 school year, public school teachers will be
required to instruct their students about the history of communism in the United States and the increasing threat that communism poses today; the various humanitarian and economic catastrophes that foreign countries have experienced under communist rule, with a particular emphasis on China and Cuba; competing political ideologies of communism, totalitarianism, and democracy; and the various events that typically precede communist revolutions.
To say this curriculum adjustment is comprehensive (and extremely beneficial) would be an understatement.
Second, SB 1264 establishes The Institute for Freedom in the Americas at Miami Dade College to “preserve the ideals of a free society and promote democracy in the Americas.” The Institute for Freedom will partner with the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom to “hold workshops, symposiums, and conferences that provide networking opportunities for leaders throughout the region to gain new insights and ideas for promoting democracy, including knowledge of and insight into the intellectual, political, and economic freedoms that are foundational to democratic society,” among many other important tasks.
Third, the bill directs Florida’s State Department—in conjunction with Florida’s Department of Education—to work with the Florida Legislature and create a Florida-based museum memorializing the history of communism.
Ultimately, this bill will give Florida’s students
the ammunition they need to withstand Marxist indoctrination, whether that comes from academia, the media, Hollywood, the federal government, nongovernmental organizations, or any of the plethora of organs now tightly controlled by Marxist visionaries. Such legislation could not be more vital in a time when young people all across the country are espousing socialism to an unprecedented degree.
For instance, a 2018
poll from Gallup found that more than half of Americans aged 18 to 29 years old have a positive view toward socialism, with less than half viewing free market capitalism—the diametric opposite of socialism, from an economic point of view—favorably. As Gallup noted, in 2010, more than two-thirds of young Americans viewed capitalism favorably. That is a massive shift in a relatively short amount of time.
Further, a 2019 YouGov/Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
survey found that 64 percent of Gen Z respondents and 70 percent of Millennials would be somewhat or extremely likely to vote for a socialist candidate. Equally striking is that 19 percent of Millennials and 12 percent of Gen Z actually think that “The Communist Manifesto” “better guarantees freedom and equality for all” than our Declaration of Independence.
In an ideal world, the number of socialist adherents would be zero. Socialism has no redeeming qualities. It may sound nice to the uninitiated, but underneath it all is a mailed fist of oppression, destruction, and evil.
Ironically (and concerningly), many of these budding socialist ideologues do not even know what socialism is. A 2019
poll conducted by the Young America’s Foundation found that more than half of students ages 13 to 22 years old cannot even accurately define the ideology they trumpet from the rooftops.
This is why legislation such as Florida SB 1264 is so important.
In the
statement that accompanied the bill’s signing, Mr. DeSantis proclaimed: “The truth will set us free. We will not allow our students to live in ignorance, nor be indoctrinated by Communist apologists in schools. To the contrary, we will ensure students in Florida are taught the truth about the evils and dangers of Communism.”
Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. echoed Mr. DeSantis.
“It is vitally important that every student learns about the dangers of Communism ... and I am proud to stand by Governor DeSantis as he signs this legislation to ensure Florida remains the bastion of freedom,” Mr. Diaz said.
Lawmakers in other states must take Mr. DeSantis’s and Mr. Diaz Jr.’s words to heart and use SB 1264 as a model to craft laws of their own. As detailed in a booklet Chris Talgo and I wrote for The Heartland Institute, “
Socialism at a Glance,” liberty and socialism are incompatible. If socialism thrives, liberty dies—and so do millions of innocent people. It is really that simple.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
