Over Christmas, I had a discussion with one of my grandchildren, and the subject of history and the Second World War came up. From what she told me, there is little to nothing taught about this period in the 20th century. In fact, apart from aboriginal studies and the climate, Australian students suffer from historical shortcomings. This is a problem in American schools as well. We've seen interviews with students on the street who are asked simple questions about world leaders or the location of countries. So many can't identify where countries are located. Even more embarrassing are those who don't know the current U.S. President.
I look back to my high school education in Canada, which started in 1959. How different it was. There were no optional subjects throughout high school. We had extensive courses in history from ancient times to the Middle Ages and, of course, the 20th century with the two world wars. We studied the significant revolutions of France, Russia, and America. In addition, there were all the monarchical dynasties, such as the Tudors, Valois, Bourbons and Hapsburgs.
The political philosophies of Socialism, Communism, Fascism, and Capitalism were explored in depth, and we had to be able to differentiate between the two. One thing we never had was a teacher selectively expressing his or her bias and trying to influence our thinking. Instead, these were presented as historical events and nothing more.
Today, students are fed ideological pablum like critical race theory or white privilege based on colonialism. What they fail to realise is that non-whites were also colonialists and enslavers. Just look at the Ottoman Empire, one of the largest in history. The Ottomans were not 'white' nor were they Christian.
It's not only with history that moral relativism is interjected instead of considering events objectively. Facts don't matter anymore; what someone' feels' determines reality. Therefore, the trend now is to rewrite history.
Unfortunately, there are people on the right who have succumbed to the same fabricated propaganda. One such person who I used to have respect for was Tucker Carlson. Since he left Fox, he's had some people like Darryl Cooper, who masquerades as a historical expert. He has no expertise but shows himself to be a Nazi propagandist and Holocaust denier. Disgracefully, he professes to know that Churchill was the cause of World War 2 and that Hitler was some benevolent leader. Oh, yes, and the Jews, of course, were behind Churchill, says Cooper. He totally ignored Hitler's annexation of Austria in 1938 and then his invasion of Poland. What makes the podcast all the more egregious is that Carlson did not push back, which shows his passivity and concurrence.
Listen to what eminent historian Professor Niall Ferguson has to say about Cooper.
Professor Ferguson researches 20th-century history and teaches it for a living, so who do you believe: Cooper, and by extension Carlson, who promotes such rubbish, or Ferguson?
On Tucker's podcast, Cooper said the Nazi concentration camps were just there to house prisoners of war who were too numerous to feed. The fact that Carlson allows such a rank antisemite on his show means Trump would be wise to divest himself from someone like Tucker Carlson. During my teenage years, I knew several Jewish survivors of the concentration camps with indelible numbers tattooed on their arms.
Suppose people like Tucker have such a wide berth to spread misinformation of a dastardly nature. What chance do schoolchildren have when they are either subtly or overtly pumped with antisemitic propaganda.
We have now reached the stage where anything goes. This is exemplified by the following new form of indoctrination.
Princeton gender studies program to offer 'sex work,' 'queer spaces' courses
"The course explores the intricate lives and intimate narratives of sex workers from the perspective of sex workers themselves, as they engage in myriad varieties of global sex work: pornography, prostitution, erotic dance, escorting, street work, camming, commercial fetishism, and sex tourism"
Is this the institute of higher learning that Einstein came to join, The Institute of Advanced Studies? How far has the American college and primary school systems fallen? When you have supposedly learned people who can't differentiate the biological difference between men and women, then you are in serious trouble.
The chart below tells you all you need to know. Educational institutions, along with media and bureaucracy, have captured the hearts and minds of most young people.
Indoctrination is now compulsory, and education with objective truths is just an afterthought.
There is a bit of hope on the horizon, such as the new University of Austin in Texas, which is dedicated to traditional values of higher education. Let’s hope this becomes a growing trend.
Ely, great article! I received my "edu-macation" in Germany during the 1970s, but surprisingly (or not), we were not taught about either World War. It wasn't until I moved to Australia at the age of twelve that I learned about the World Wars, Germany's involvement, and the then mainstream propaganda surrounding Hitler et al. However, there was no mention of the financial backers of the wars, that is to say, the vested interests of Swiss banksters, which is quite telling. Also, German taxpayers have been providing "reparations" since then to individuals claiming Jewish descent who assert they were impacted by the Holocaust. Since then I've learnt that Germany has made extensive reparations payments to Holocaust survivors since the 1950s. As of recent announcements, Germany paid over $1.4 billion to Holocaust survivors in 2024. This amount included direct compensation and funding for welfare programs, with a significant portion allocated for home care services and one-time payments to eligible survivors. To your knowledge, has any other nation provided ongoing "reparations" for any of the wars they started, ever? Japan, Italy, U.S., anyone???