Western Civilization At Stake
by Paul M. Weyrich

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) is waging an important crusade and he wants your help. At stake is the acknowledgement in our schools of the importance of Western Civilization to our country.

There used to be jokes about the way Communists would literally scrub the Soviet Union's history books to reflect the current line of the Kremlin. Do Americans really know how our own history has been hijacked?

A few years ago, New Jersey, in trying to develop new guidelines for history instruction in public schools, omitted mention of the Founding Fathers, the Pilgrims and the Mayflower.

Fortunately, we are still living in the United States of America, a democratic republic where we have freedom of speech and citizens are free to participate in the political process. New Jerseyans learned what was happening, and public opinion helped to force constructive changes.

Time after time, however, the multiculturalists are up to no good and the victims of their false history will be our children.

Take the textbook called A World Conflict that has been used in the Palm Beach County, Florida public schools. The first five pages that discuss World War II are replete with information about women in the armed forces, black Americans and the home front as well as the Japanese internment. These topics deserve mention, but not at the expense of a thorough, fact-based discussion of the conflict itself and how we were able to fight and win the war. As it is, there is absolutely not enough discussion of the latter and an inappropriate, disproportionate emphasis on the former.

This statement will no doubt draw venom from multiculturalists, but it must be said. Most of the soldiers and sailors who did the fighting on our side at that time were white males. They deserve acknowledgement and respect for their willingness to fight -- even die -- for freedom and democracy just as the white males and Asian males who fought on behalf of Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire also deserve acknowledgement for their willingness to fight on behalf of corrupt, false and lethal regimes intent on crushing any country, territory or people that stood in their way. It's often difficult to find a photo of average GIs in combat in many history textbooks these days.

That's just one example that can be found on the web page of Rep. Tancredo in a section called "Our Heritage...Our Hope."

Tancredo connects with grassroots Americans because he has the guts to take on the tough issues such as the need for tighter control over our borders and the need to acknowledge the importance of Western Civilization to our heritage.

The textbooks favored by many multiculturalists ignore the importance of Western Civilization in areas such as religious tolerance, individual liberty, democratic institutions, and the rule of law. Their flat-out disregard for Western Civilization allows textbooks to be used in schools such as the one in a New Mexico school district called 500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures that was "written in response to the Bicentennial celebration of the 1776 American Revolution and its lies." This book proclaims its purpose to be to "celebrate our resistance to being colonized and absorbed by racist empire builders."

Tancredo knows that this battle is best fought by a citizenry awakened to what is happening to our textbooks and in our schools. Mandates from Washington are not the way to proceed.

He has introduced the "Recognizing the Importance of Western Civilization Resolution" (House Concurrent Resolution 377). It would put Congress on record as recognizing the importance of teaching our young people "to have an appreciation of Western Civilization [as] central to the development and maintenance of a vibrant, united, and enduring United States polity, culture, and society." The resolution also encourages local school boards and state departments of education to ensure that the underlying "concepts and ideals" of Western Civilization are effectively taught and that high school graduates have a thorough understanding of the history of Western Civilization.

This is where you come in. He's asking grassroots Americans who believe in God and Country to make sure your state legislators and school board members are aware of the model resolutions he has produced on this important topic. A school board resolution will commit the board to ensuring "appropriate curricula and textbooks" are used to teach students.

Tancredo worries that too many young Americans - particularly immigrants and their "first generation" children - are being taught the wrong lessons in our schools. We cannot allow this to continue or else we risk becoming the Dis-united States of America. If you care about our country and its heritage, then you need to contact your local school board and state legislators and emphasize the importance of their recognizing the importance of Western Civilization.

Paul M. Weyrich is Chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation.