[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15225]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          INTRODUCTION OF THE DEFENSE OF FREEDOM EDUCATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. THOMAS E. PETRI

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 26, 2002

  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, today I have introduced the Defense of 
Freedom Education Act, legislation which is designed to create new, and 
strengthen existing, post-secondary education programs which teach the 
nature, history, and philosophy of free institutions, Western 
Civilization, and the threats to freedom from totalitarianism and 
fanaticism.
  In order to sustain freedom and civilization, it is imperative that 
every generation be taught to understand their full significance and 
value, and the threats with which they are faced. However, in almost 
all of our institutions of higher education today, the study of 
American history and Western Civilization has been systematically de-
emphasized. For a variety of reasons, these subject areas have fallen 
into disfavor on college campuses, to the point that it is possible at 
many leading universities to get a liberal arts degree without having 
taken one course in history or Western Civilization. This perpetuation 
of ignorance about the philosophical underpinnings of our nation can 
only have baleful consequences for the future.
  To see that this de-emphasis is already having an effect, one must 
only examine the stunning ignorance about basic facts of American 
history among recent college graduates, as detailed in a 2000 study 
conducted by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. To cite just 
one of the many horrifying examples from that report, while 99 percent 
of the 556 college seniors tested at 55 leading colleges and 
universities (including Harvard and Princeton) correctly identified 
Beavis and Butthead as popular cartoon characters, just 23 percent had 
any idea who James Madison was. The questions used in this study appear 
in the Congressional Record for July 10, 2000 (page H5662-H5663). These 
multiple-choice questions, which, in truth, a well-educated ninth-
grader should be able to breeze through, are increasingly over the 
heads of college graduates (the average score in the study was 53 
percent).
  Two years ago, I was very involved in a congressional effort to 
highlight this appalling situation. This effort led to the unanimous, 
bicameral passage of a concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 129) which 
stated, in part, that ``the historical illiteracy of America's college 
and university graduates is a serious problem that should be addressed 
by the Nation's higher education community.'' The nonbinding resolution 
urged colleges and universities to review their curriculum and add 
requirements for American history courses. However, perhaps it is time 
for Congress to take a more active role in trying to reverse this 
continuing loss of our collective civic memory.
  To that end, the Defense of Freedom Education Act would offer grants 
to institutions of higher education, specific centers within such an 
institution, or associated nonprofit foundations. These grants would be 
used to establish courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels 
which teach any or all of the following concepts, which bear both on 
American history directly and the ideas that serve as America's 
foundation:

       The concepts, personalities and major events surrounding 
     the founding of America. This includes the philosophical 
     background behind the Declaration of Independence, the 
     Constitution, and the free institutions which we take for 
     granted today. Earlier generations were taught these subjects 
     as a matter of course, but we are increasingly moving towards 
     a time where Americans will think of the 4th of July as 
     simply a day when we shoot off fireworks and hold picnics.
       Western Civilization and the defining features of human 
     progress which it embodies. These include democracy, 
     universalism, individual rights, market economies, religious 
     freedom, advanced science, and efficient technology. Programs 
     of study funded under this bill can also examine the impact 
     of the West on other civilizations, the Western debt to other 
     civilizations, the comparative study of high civilization, 
     and the process by which Western and other civilizations may 
     be gradually evolving into a world civilization.
       Threats to free institutions. Some of these threats emerge 
     from philosophical systems such as Communism, Fascism, 
     Nazism, and totalitarian thinking in all its guises. Others 
     emerge from widespread human predilections subversive of 
     tolerance, individual rights, and civil society, such as 
     racism, caste consciousness, and zealotry. Some are the 
     products of perverse ambition such as autocracy, despotism 
     and militarism. All threaten freedom, provoke war, and induce 
     terrorism. While we who lived through the 20th Century are 
     painfully aware of the depredations caused by ideologies such 
     as Communism, future generations will not have the benefit of 
     such first-hand experience.
       Projects supported under this program could include the 
     design and implementation of courses, the development of 
     centers devoted to the ends of this bill, research and 
     publication costs of relevant readers and other course 
     materials, and other clearly related activities. Support will 
     also be given to professional development projects designed 
     to help improve the content and quality of education about 
     the founding and the history of free government at the K-12 
     level. (After all, a huge part of the problem is the awful 
     quality of American history instruction provided by many 
     school systems. A student really shouldn't have to reach the 
     university level before finding out who James Madison was and 
     why he was important to our country.) While I don't always 
     see the creation of a new government program as the best way 
     to solve pressing societal problems, there are several 
     precedents in the area of higher education. It seems to me 
     that it is a worthy use of government funds to try and arrest 
     the progressive deterioration of America's collective memory 
     which is now occurring. I encourage my colleagues to join in 
     cosponsoring this bill and advancing this effort.

     

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