Ignorant by Design

George Korda has an article where he discusses the basic historical knowledge of American students, offering some data on middle school students to college seniors.  The results are terrible.  Here is an excerpt:

In 2000, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni found that seniors from America’s colleges and universities were graduating with, "alarming ignorance of their heritage and a profound historical illiteracy…four out of five—81%—of seniors recently surveyed from the top 55 colleges and universities in the United States received a grade of D or F on history questions drawn from a basic high school curriculum…Seniors could not identify Valley Forge, words from the Gettysburg Address, or even the basic principles of the U.S. Constitution.

Korda goes on to say that people ignorant of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and such are much less likely to squawk if the principals therein are not observed.

This ignorance is no mistake.  It is intentional.  Most schools are run by governments.  Governments prefer docile and obedient peasants.  It makes exercising power so much easier when the people nod numbly rather than fighting a tyrannical government.  Governments are making moves against homeschoolers because it both threatens a state client - teachers unions - and a state interest - students inculcated with state-supported ideology.  Look at how many young people are in favor of Bernie Sanders, an avowed socialist.  A government-funded school is unlikely to teach students about the immense distrust that the Founders felt toward government.

 

Is this a conspiracy?  No.  This is the invisible hand of the market, much like Adam Smith explained.  Politicians, bureaucrats, and government employees who run and populate the school systems innately know that they should not produce citizens who are inclined to oppose those very politicians, bureaucrats, and government employees.  Instead we have seen a gradual embrace of more and more government control.

 

1913 Income Tax

1935 Social Security

1935 Welfare

1938 Minimum Wage

1946 School Lunch Program

1964 Food Stamp Act

1965 Medicare

1967 State-run Media (Corporation for Public Broadcasting)

2003 Medicare Drug Benefit

2010 National Healthcare (Affordable Care Act)

 

These are only some highlights.  It would require a very long list to mention all the ways government has taken over aspects of life that were once the responsibility of the individual or the family.  The process will not end until the government controls everything.  The uninformed graduates of government schools are all in favor of this, unaware that it contradicts the founding principles of the nation.