History Texas Style

Fox News ran a story this morning about the upcoming battle in Texas over guidelines relating to the contents of history textbooks. Apparently it is “so goes Texas, so goes the nation” time. Because Texas is the second biggest buyer of history textbooks in the country, textbook publishers incorporate those guidelines into their history books which are distributed nationwide. There are only four major textbook publishing houses in the country…all of whom want a bite at the Texas textbook apple.

Fox News slanted the story as an attempted liberal takeover of the Texas educational system. After my own limited reading on the subject, I concluded the opposite was true. The guidelines are established by the elected 15 member Texas Board of Education, who has hearings on various textbook issues and then establishes the guidelines. The current makeup of the Board is 10 Republicans and 5 Democrats. Within the Republican block there is some dissent from a moderate group and a more conservative group rooted in fundamental Christianity. The latest go around of controversial note was several years ago on the teaching of evolution vs. creationism.

Depending on the news story you read, the latest go around seems to be based on a left wing group attempting to establish revisionist history by proposals that would eliminate references to the role of religion in the founding of the country; eliminating any references to Christmas or Veterans Day; eliminating references to various historical figures such as Washington or Lincoln; and an emphasis on figures such as Cesar Chavez.

While that makes for good copy, the opposite seems to be true. The conservative makeup of the Board of Education almost assures defeat of any such efforts while allowing debate as to whether Thurgood Marshall, the first black Supreme Court justice, is worthy of being included in Texas history books.

While Texas conservatives may be acting in ways that make even make my right wing eyebrows rise, the problem is rooted in left wing ideology permeating the public school systems. Most social studies teachers are Democrats, and liberal if not downright progressive in their political views. The political ideology comes out in the teaching. Of particular note are school systems that put Christopher Columbus on trial for his crimes against native inhabitants of the western hemisphere. Like he was responsible for western diseases that swept through native populations! Those diseases would have reached here sooner or later, with or without Columbus.

Downplaying or denigrating the role of religion in our society, and the importance of the Judeo-Christian ethic is another tactic of left wing revisionists. And of course, slavery….and colonialism…it goes on and on.

History is. It just happens. There is social history and economic history and cultural history and comparative history and “history-history” of the timeline variety. It is open to many interpretations. But one thing I can tell you for sure. Social progressives and liberals tend to view the history of the United States in the negative and look for the sins of the nation, while conservatives look for the strengths and goodness of the nation that has served as a beacon and example for the world, no matter how imperfect America may be. On its worst day, American values of freedom and equality are far better than anything that can be found anywhere else, now or in the past.

So if the Texas Board of Education bends to the right in an effort to stave off those who would portray George Washington and Thomas Jefferson as devils incarnate because they owned slaves…good for them.

But guys…Thurgood Marshall should be included. Really!!