Do they still teach American history and civics in the schools?

[undeterred]

I mean in grade school and high school. There is so much BS out there now that you'd think people would be able to identify and they can't.

Don't we keep kids in school till they are 16 any more?

Do they teach that Jesus came over on the Mayflower and Moses wrote the Constitution, which was signed by all the disciples including John the Baptist?

Sometimes I really wonder. If you flip past the Sunday news shows and catch some of the Christian revisionist history, they say things so blatantly inaccurate an 8th grader should be able to see through it.

[Wilms]

1. Where I live, I think they...

...do they teach that Jesus came over on the Mayflower and Moses wrote the Constitution, which was signed by all the disciples including John the Baptist?

Oh. And an elderly neighbor told me she loves America because "it's the only free country in the world"!

So this education problem has been around for awhile.

[bobbieinok]

2. David Barton has many books + videos that state US was founded

as a xtian nation. He and his followers do workshops around the country about this. He did a major one for clergy and republican activists in the 2004 campaign. I heard him state in the late 90s that he had done a major workshop at the Air Force Academy and that the students were just appalled about how their teachers and profs had lied to them.

Call your local non-denominational, conservative, and/or fundamentalist church to find out when the next workshop will be in your area. DUers should go prepared and challenge the statements made.

[Rose Siding]

3. Civic illiteracy motivated Sen Byrd to legislate a manditory day

-ONE day, during which schools that receive federal dollars will teach the Constitution. Even that brought critism from some localities. Some worried about how to fit it into whatever lesson plans they had for the subject (though it seems to me that even explaining to the students why they are taught about it on that day could be a lesson in itself). Other districts just resented federal intrusion -an argument which would hold way more water if the problem wasn't already so acute.

[ThomWV]

4. It Seems To Be That And Much More

Not only are children apparently not taught the facts of their heritage but more importantly they simply are not being told that it IS their heritage as well as their personal treasure. They have no notion that their rights and liberties require constant defense - that they would as soon taken by friend as foe.

I am fortunate in this part of my life (60-ish) in that I get the spend a lot of time with young people )20's and early 30's) and hear their opinions and gripes. Their ignorance on some matters is simply stunning. Mention the word 'inviolate' in association with the first 5 Amendments to the Constitution and all you get is a blank stare ....

[Flying Dream Blues]

5. You're right. The average kid these days is completely

clueless, and they are being spoon-fed a lot of crap.

However, I think that our reluctance to proselytize as do the fundies and repukes has bitten us in the a**. We tend to believe that truth will out in the end, and yet our counterparts are busy brainwashing the masses. They have made it a point to take over and control the school system and the books they use. Hence your (somewhat exaggerated, but point well taken) scenario above, which would be funny if it wasn't so close to home.

The "liberal media" is a lone voice crying in the wilderness in relative terms. The neo-cons have succeeded in marginalizing us and making "liberal" akin to "America-hating," "flag burning," "Godless"and every other thing. I think it's possible that we underestimated their appeal until it was too late (I mean, could you conceive of a majority in this country believing all that BS during the Clinton years?) I think we have to start playing the game on their terms; waiting for them to have enough rope to hang themselves has been ruinous to our country and excruciating to watch.

And, right after posting this I plan to start 3 or 4 liberal news networks. (I realize this is just another meaningless whine on my part.) Sigh.