HIGHER ED:

Proclaiming Our Principles (Gertrude Himmelfarb, February 17, 2003, Washington Post)

We once had "Founding Fathers." Today we have the neutered "Founders." We once celebrated Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays. Today we celebrate the anonymous "Presidents' Day." We have lost a good deal in this homogenization and dilution of our language. We have lost not only a vital part of our history but also a way of honoring and transmitting that history.

The memory of Abraham Lincoln might have recalled for us his address in 1838 to the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Ill. The title of that address, "The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions," could not be more timely today. Long before he himself was called upon to preserve and perpetuate our institutions by force of arms, he reminded those young men (he was not much older than they) of the necessity of inspiring future generations with a proper respect, almost a religious respect, for the institutions unique to this country.

"Let reverence for the laws," he said, "be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap. Let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges. Let it be written in primers, spelling books, and in almanacs. Let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in the courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation."

The word "patriotism" -- indeed, the idea of patriotism -- has not been in good repute in recent years. If we have forgotten to teach and preach the virtues of patriotism, as Lincoln would have had us do, it is because we have lost that "reverence for the laws" -- not for any laws but for our laws -- that have distinguished our country, that have made it unique and that have deserved our reverence. And we have lost that reverence because we have forgotten our history -- forgotten it because, in the most literal sense, we have neglected to teach it. [...]

At this time, more than ever, when our institutions and traditions are threatened by terrorists and terror-inspired regimes, we have all the more need to recall the message of Lincoln. Let us teach, and preach, and proclaim, and enforce those principles of liberty and law that are our honorable heritage.

One of the worst aspects of our current political focus on education is just this, we seem to have completely lost sight of why we have a system of public education in the first place. It is not intended to produce good students but good citizens of the republic. Posted by Orrin Judd at February 18, 2003 9:12 PM