By Not Teaching America's History, Educators Hope to Repeat It

BOSTON, MA -- Blame it all on George Satayana, who famously said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."  Teachers and Professors in public schools and universities hope that by not teaching about American Exceptionalism, their students will be "condemned to repeat it."

Dr. Simon Shipdit, Professor of History at Boston University's College of Arts and Sciences, was clear that historians know very well about America's numerous positive contributions to the world, but they teach only the few things that put America in a bad light because they want students to remain "ignorant of the rest, so they'll be doomed to repeat it."

He gave a brief and partial list of the many things "this great nation" has accomplished that are not being stressed to the current crop of learners:

• The revolutionary idea that everyone is entitled to certain rights like freedom of speech, press, and religion
• The concept that government works for The People, not the other way around
• The creation of unparalleled wealth and prosperity for huge numbers of people in an extremely short period of time due to the workings of free market capitalism
• The unique promise that every person has control over their own destiny - free of clan, family, or societal limits - and is held back only by their own hard work and ambition

When asked about the danger that students will learn about America's many historical successes and triumphs anyway, especially in this age of instant access to information, Dr. Shipdit concedes that it is possible, but unlikely, "We've been teaching this stuff for decades now, and the message just keep getting stronger and stronger. I doubt very much that it will change. Most people are too busy to really look into something on their own. It's much easier to just sit back and listen instead of having to think, don't you agree? Besides, if you don't realize you are being misled, why would you ever examine it yourself?"