longer.blue

The Regime’s Attacks on Education Looks to Rewrite History Our assumptions of what impel dictators to rule has always been and still is about power and control. These dynamics, however, have also given them a pathway to pursue deeper underlying agendas be it personal, political or both. Vladimir Putin, a child of the Soviet Union era, is set on rebuilding the glory and dominance of Mother Russia at any cost, China’s President Xi Jinping, growing up during the Maoist regime, is focused on resurrecting the dictator’s hardline stance and expanding its geopolitical influence. Then there is our very own regime, looking to make America ‘great again’ – but wait, which America is it referring to and what of the ongoing literacy crisis in our nation? How does that square with greatness? And was the regime not responsible for dismantling parts of the K-12 educational program in public schools? Side note: In 2016 at a Reno Nevada campaign rally this soon to be dictator stated, “I love the poorly educated.” The crowd loved it. (Not surprisingly, there were mixed interpretations.) ‘Dumbing Down’ America Within two months of taking office in 2025 the regime, in one fell swoop of the executive pen, declared war on this nation’s non-white students enrolled in traditional public schools, pre-K to 12th grade, with the certainty of confusing and distorting their understanding of history and today’s social issues while navigating through their critical primary years of schooling. “Radical indoctrination” is what the regime accused the Dept. of Education of due to its support of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs determined to counter what the regime perceives as anti-American sentiment in education. That being, minimizing if not sanitizing America’s darker past – slavery and its psychological scarring effects, the violation of the Native American culture, the exploitation and persecution of Asians, as well as downplaying current controversies. Contentious social issues inherently exist in most societies, be it race, sex, gender or politics. Yet this regime, disregarding whatever the effects or consequences these matters have on any given individual, cut funding to schools supporting DEI while threatening to root out and punish schools that do. Funding for English language learner and mentorship programs would also be eliminated along with educational resources, such as federal school vouchers, striking a heavy blow to lower income communities. Publicly funded Charter Schools, on the other hand, survived the funding slash and will benefit along with private and religious schools from a federal universal school choice program sanctioned by the regime and backed by its billionaire buddies. The Federal Voucher Plan, part of the “conservative playbook” from Project 2025 published by the Heritage Foundation, gave a thumbs-up that public school dollars should follow the student which, according to First Focus of Children, would destabilize public schools nationwide and lead to mass shutdowns. Picking up where it left off from its first White House occupancy the regime continues its assault on public education, this time setting its sights on school reading lists. Its focus, reinforcing censorship on literary classics such as To Kill a Mockingbird, criticized for its theme of racial injustice, and modern works that bring clarity to current issues relating to alternative life choices. Books are in the process of being removed from studies due to demands from the conservative right and a push to pull other established school classics off public library shelves is also underway. One of the more detrimental moves by this regime, however, was the termination of grants to 123,000 libraries across the country affecting various community services and programs some of which were intended to improve reading and literacy. Side note: In April, 2026, the regime stated, “I don’t believe in building libraries or museums”, with an eye on dismantling the federal agency that funds local libraries. In 2024 the National Literacy Institute reported on average that 79 percent of U.S. adults are literate, able to read and write, with 21 percent of adults being illiterate. Still, of the adults that are literate, 54 percent read at sixth grade level, with 20 percent reading below fifth grade. No matter the number of superlatives used by the regime to hype the status of U.S. schools it does not change facts regarding the growing literacy problem. According to the Library Journal, an American trade publication for librarians, the U.S., globally, is well behind several other countries including Japan, all the Scandinavian countries, the Republic of Korea, and the U.K. As the Worm Turns The first institutions to be targeted in a dictatorship have typically been schools and universities. Recorded history has shown that the likes of Hitler and Stalin, World War II despots, manipulated history by eroding facts and truths. Textbooks and educational materials were altered to uphold their ideologies and works that contradicted their official histories banned. In today’s world, a report from the V-Dem Institute (University of Gothenburg) and cited by Democracy Without Borders, states that by the year 2025 the number of autocracies has already risen, while democracies had fallen. It’s been estimated that 74 percent of the world’s population, around six billion people, live in autocracies, while only 26 percent live in democracies. That’s seven percent of the world’s population living in liberal democracies. Moreover, for the first time in nearly 50 years, as verified by the V-Dem researchers, the U.S. has lost its long-standing status as a liberal democracy. As unsettling as this is, if not down-right soul-crushing, have faith. There is an army of angry, disillusioned every day Americans from around the county that will not ever give way to a batty and condemnable regime parading itself as the savior of America, the one who will make it...you know, great again. Yet there are those that find the very idea of a dictatorship incredulous because, after all, that kind of thing happens somewhere over there, not here. While there is no magic fix, we need to make certain that this nation now, in the future and far future, never ever allows the rise of an authoritarian regime to replace what the country has fought for and continues to fight for, its democratic principles. Literacy, comprehension, that’s what gives democracy its legs. The passage below, taken from ‘parents4publicschools.org’, speaks to all that deeply value democracy and its opportunities. “When properly educated, citizens are better equipped to make sound decisions relating to our system of government and way of life. Our Constitution and our nation’s founding principles must continue to serve as the foundation and guiding force of our republic or we will find ourselves ever prey to demagoguery and chaos.” “As future voters, our children must be made aware of the importance of their roles as citizens.” Side note: Public schools account for approximately 90% of all registered K-12 students in the U.S.