We Hear You: Rallying Around 1776 Commission After Biden Disbands It
Ken McIntyre /
Editor’s note: The Daily Signal’s audience isn’t happy with President Joe Biden’s torpedoing of his predecessor’s 1776 Commission, which is dedicated to returning knowledge of U.S. history and love of country to our schools. Here’s a sampling of your responses to our coverage at [email protected].—Ken McIntyre
Dear Daily Signal: I read with dismay Mike Gonzalez’s article about President Biden’s actions to dismiss both the 1776 Commission and its report (“Biden’s Disbanding of 1776 Commission Shows Left’s War on US History”). To rewrite history to fit a political agenda is a terribly frightening thing, and I don’t believe enough true, patriotic Americans recognize the evil damage that is being done in our country.
It feels like so many people I know are willing to ignore the actions and goals of the left. They want a peaceful country and someone who they believe will be a “nice” president.
They’re lied to by politicians and the media, and they do not see what is so obvious to those who look at original documents, who look at accurate history, who see the hypocrisy of the left, and who understand and rightly fear its goals.
I’ve supported President Trump and his Make American Great Again goals. I’ve tried to stay abreast of issues and current events. To see what Trump was able to accomplish in spite of continual opposition is amazing. It’s so sad and terrifying to see it being undone and to know, from looking at history, how horrible things can get in the future.
How do we “regular” Americans make a difference? We, who want to see sanity return to our country, who don’t have millions of dollars to contribute, who don’t have platforms from which to be heard? We are not “domestic terrorists.” We have different (and I believe correct and informed) views of what’s happening.
To date, I’ve made (small) donations to conservative campaigns, including the Georgia Senate races. I read as much as I can to educate myself on issues and actions, including The Daily Signal. I’ve joined The Heritage Foundation. I follow Victor Davis Hanson’s podcasts and articles, which are so helpful in clarifying issues and creating understanding.
We discuss what’s going on within our family. Our 6-year-old grandson is being moved from public school to a private Christian school. I’ve donated to Hillsdale College and regularly read its newsletter. I dropped Facebook and Twitter when their censorship became intolerable.
But there must be much more that we, as private conservatives, can do to have an impact. We’ve been called the “silent majority” for many years. I truly believe there are many, many millions of us who have not been heard who could be mobilized to push back—not in any nasty or violent ways, but in intelligent, informed ways.
Take a look at the baby boomer generation: I was not an activist in the 1960s (not my style), but I watched and learned when people questioned the status quo (among them Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement) and questioned those in authority who made poor decisions (as in the Vietnam War).
We baby boomers are still here in large numbers and from most of those that I know, we are kindred spirits in our frustration and fear for society and our country’s future.
We need calm leadership and organization in order to be heard. What can be done? I want to do more and I don’t want to be considered silent anymore.—Laura Davis, Maryland
Dear Daily Signal: I’m very concerned about the nation and culture my grandchildren will inherit. I appreciate the work that is being done by the 1776 Commission.
I pray that the truths we hold dear will find open hearts and minds with courage to continue to transmit them and live them in spite of the foolish ideas of the cancel culture. May God bless the commission’s compassionate and critical work.—The Rev. John Wernecke
***
Thank you for an excellent article. Commissioners, please continue your important work on behalf of the American experience. Our children must know the truth of our founding.—Jack Wyman, Dallas, Texas
Dear Daily Signal: I enjoyed Mike Gonzalez’s well-written article (“Biden’s Disbanding of 1776 Commission Shows Left’s War on US History”). I also was a little dumbfounded and confused by President Biden’s rash action to cancel the 1776 Commission project designed to teach patriotism and our founding documents to the nation’s children.
I would like to see The Daily Signal’s Fred Lucas ask the new president at a future press conference whether he was taught civics when he was a young lad. Did he enjoy learning about our founding documents?
Did he use any of this knowledge in his 45 years in public office? And if he did have civics class, why is he against teaching civics in K-12 in all American schools?
We need more debate and discussion, not less, in America. We need to fight (peacefully, of course) for freedom to restore our republic.—Bill King, Pittsburgh
***
I’m so thankful for The Heritage Foundation and its continuing sponsorship of the 1776 Commission. The irony of President Biden’s words is glaring, and nearly incomprehensible to those of us who believe in the exceptionalism of America’s founding principles.—Maxine Boyd, Colorado
***
Thank you to Mike Gonzalez, Victor Davis Hanson, and the rest of the 1776 Commission for continuing in pursuit of a clear and truthful accounting of U.S. history.
We Americans have been tested before. May we rise again to the current challenges; may we show our mettle and restore what we understand to be our God-given land and Constitution.
And may we display the moral courage to support and defend the same.—Gary Combs, Dry Ridge, Ky.
Dear Daily Signal: I’m sorry to hear about President Biden’s cutting the 1776 Commission project. It was a noble effort by President Trump to initiate the program.
I am a second-grade teacher In Oklahoma. I still teach my students American ideals. We pledge allegiance to our flag, honor our veterans, and read classics. I believe in the biblical principle to “train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not go astray.”
I also read The Daily Signal. So please keep it up. I need you all working so I can stay solidly informed.—Alice Dwyer, Perry, Okla.
***
So glad to hear the 1776 Commission is continuing anyway. The aim of the Marxists here and elsewhere is to eradicate all real history and keep adding one lie upon another.
Soviet Russia is a good example. The people knew only how to live in fear and ignorance after 70-plus years of living a lie. Now they’ve returned to it with President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB agent, ruling.—Paul Kern
***
Thank you to the 1776 Commission for continuing this important work. It is a benefit to our country and our students. —Linda Foley, Sherman, Texas
Dear Daily Signal: Some people see an old piece of furniture as something of little value and toss it out (“It’s Fake News That the 1776 Commission Report Whitewashes America’s Past”). Others look beyond the nicks and broken pieces to the beauty and value to be restored.
Broken pieces are replaced and others repaired. With time and loving care, the furniture again is used for the purpose for which it was made.
This is how I see the history of our nation. As time has passed, people begin to see little value in looking back in order to move forward.
They see the places in our history where mistakes were made, where trusts were broken, and they want to throw it all out. They don’t want to see its ugliness. The problem is, it still existed.
They overlook the inherent beauty of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence—documents that have formed a country like no other.
Were mistakes made? Of course, but as a nation we have repaired or replaced things that were wrong, changing laws and making amendments to the Constitution, and we continue to do so.
Are there still issues? Of course. Anywhere men live together there will be disputes, disagreements, differences of opinion. The question is what do you do with them?
Do you ignore or rewrite history in a way that is more palatable to one group of people over another, or do you look at both the beauty and ugliness and learn from them?
The purpose of a historical record is to state facts, be they good or bad, so that future generations can look back to move forward—avoiding the mistakes of our predecessors and embracing the forward momentum of their successes.—Anna B., Alaska
***
Nothing that the left does surprises me anymore. They just flat-out hate this great nation and all it stands for.—Jim Seaman, Robinson Township, Pa.
***
Thank you to the 1776 Commission for continuing. Can I donate somewhere to help a little?—Janalee McClure, Brohman, Mich.
Editor’s note: We’re looking into that, Janalee.
Dear Daily Signal: “We the People” can look back with pride and gratitude over the past 245 years from 1776 (“Rep. Ted Budd Fights to Preserve 1776 Commission”). America has weathered many storms and achieved many victories.
Yes, there have been horrific wars, devastating depressions, pandemics, etc. But there also have been great accomplishments in industry, medicine, science, and governance.
America is a strong and vibrant nation of 330 million. We have provided more of the good life, more opportunities to “pursue happiness,” to more people on this globe than any other nation since the dawn of history. We will continue through the 21st century and beyond, as the Constitution says, to “form a more perfect union.”
Unfortunately, now America is divided and at a crossroads as to which of two courses to choose. President Biden’s flurry of executive orders and the Democrat House leadership’s actions in their first few days confirm they have chosen the course of the leftist ideologues.
Their agenda embraces some or all of the doctrines in many failed systems of the past, i.e., socialism, communism, totalitarianism, secularism, and collectivism.
The executive order to disband the 1776 Commission is a blatant example of the leftist goal to indoctrinate any opposition by moving to take control of education, the mainstream media, Big Tech, and entertainment. To them, tolerance is acceptable only for leftist ideas; anathematize the opposition whenever possible.
The other course is our constitutional republic, the course charted by our Founding Fathers. Except to say that course is based on individual freedom and limited government, I will leave its description to the 1776 Commission’s report—a thorough, scholarly, nonpartisan, factually based and valuable analysis of the meaning of America.
Copies of the 1776 Commission’s report should be made available in public and private schools, academia, libraries, and every home in America.—Joe Fitzgerald, Canandaigua, N.Y.
***
I support the 1776 Commission. The Woodson Center’s efforts coincide with the commission’s, and that might be a good group to team with.
Moves also are afoot in many areas to do grassroots teaching of the Constitution. I have started in my church (First Baptist in Woodstock, Ga.) and currently host more than 15 individuals through an eight-week class that focuses on the Christian basis of our Founders and founding documents.
I also teach a class in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes program at Kennesaw State University. Texas evangelist Dave Barton and his son are excellent resources, and have been fighting this battle for many years. Stay the course and truth will prevail.—Col. Quentin M. Thomas, USAF (Ret.), Georgia
Dear Daily Signal: As the truth about how communism and socialism is infiltrating our American society becomes more and more apparent, it makes me reflect on my childhood and growing up in a country that offered so much to so many.
My parents were simple, average citizens who believed that hard work and love of family and country were all a person needed to be successful. I learned from them these simple and basic principles and have enjoyed a wonderfully successful career in real estate.
This would never have been possible under any other government philosophy, and the thought that I rode to success through racism is ludicrous. I worked hard, practiced the principles of fair play and honesty, and began my career weeding onions alongside migrant workers.
The Mexican family I worked with took me in and would bring me a lunch of beans and tortillas each day. This was at the ripe old age of 12. To say that I had an advantage due to my race is nothing short of ridiculous, and I strongly reject that opinion.
Growing up, my parents taught me that skin color is not a reason to look down on (or up to) a person, but that it’s what is in his or her heart that counts. I made close friends (black and brown) who I still cherish and communicate with to this day.
Our country’s history is of such great importance to all of us that I am saddened by President Biden’s actions in abolishing the 1776 Commission and its work.
I now have grandchildren who soon will be taking over the reins of this country. I only can hope and pray that they will know the truth and then can make an educated decision on the road ahead. Thank you for all you do and have done for this country. —Randy Shaw, Klamath Falls, Ore.
***
This is so, so important. Our schools need to teach our country’s true history, through the trials when slavery was common worldwide through its abolishment in the U.S.
Thank you, Commissioners, for continuing your work.—Ken Jacroux, Missouri
Dear Daily Signal: What was the purpose of President Biden’s doing away with the 1776 Commission? This group was working to ensure that our youth are taught true American history rather than the false, distorted history of The New York Times’ 1619 Project.
Done on Biden’s first day in office, it was that important to stifle American history. That was an indication of where America is headed.
Here we have Antifa on the rampage again destroying Portland, Oregon, and not a peep from the president or other Democrats. Are these not domestic terrorists?
That’s all we heard from the liberals and the media since the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, and now all of a sudden they are silent.—Frank Lovell, Republican Executive Committee, Citrus County, Fla.
***
Thank you to Mike Gonzalez and the rest of the 1776 Commission for the great work. In faith, we must impress these principles on our children (Deuteronomy 6:7). Talk about them at home, while in the car, at bedtime and mealtime. Keep up the great work.—Terry Beers
***
I thank the commission for its work and faith in the people to believe the truth of 1776, not the lies of The New York Times’ 1619 Project.
President Trump was right in creating this commission. I am proud of him for many things; creating this commission was one of his most honorable acts. This work most continue.
May God bless each of the 1776 Commission appointees.—Donald Cantrell
Dear Daily Signal: Kudos to the 1776 Commission for making this issue visible, and especially for continuing its charter in spite of the Biden administration’s attempt to destroy its work (“What’s Next for 1776 Commission and the Fight to Preserve U.S. History”).
I write to ask if anyone is keeping a “scorecard” that will track every single one of the actions of President Biden’s and his administration. As a member of The Heritage Foundation, I would like to be able to go to a place where this will be kept up to date and visible on the web.
I believe the lack of this resource partially was to blame for President Trump’s reputation being soiled by the media.—John Freeh, Center Valley, Pa.
***
In light of the 1776 Commission’s commitment to continue meeting and fulfilling the charges of its two-year mission, I propose that the final summation be bound and published.
We need a text that our children can read to counter the fictional 1619 Project’s refuse. With a potential market of 75 million Americans, the financial viability is fantastic—let alone the moral obligation to spread the truth.—Steve Girard, Wisconsin
***
I am happy to hear that work on the 1776 Commission’s project will continue. I am truly dismayed that so-called legitimate sources of news demean it and instead support something as illegitimate as the 1619 Project. It’s a perfect example of why it is hard to be bullish on America.—James Cornillie, Byron, Mich.
Dear Daily Signal: Thank you to Mike Gonzalez for his commentary on the 1776 Commission. I just read Larry Arnn’s article in Hillsdale College’s Imprimis, which goes hand in glove with his.
The cancel culture of the left can be brought to intellectual justice only by the truth about our nation’s history, which is well documented. The Lincoln/Douglass debates are a good example.
Our Founders struggled not only in the framing of our founding documents but in their implementation. It was much more difficult getting through the first 10 years than had been imagined.
Many had gone back to their farms, leaving the hard work to those who chose politics as a new way of working to bring to life what would become the greatest nation on earth.
We are still a nation in progress. May God’s hand remain on us.—Charles Cayce
***
As a sentinel for Heritage Action for America, I will be interested to see what of our country survives this new administration.
It is ignoring election fraud, and no court or other legal authority is willing to investigate. Your article on the closure of the 1776 Commission reports on just one attack on our country.—Martin Kralik, Dallas, Texas
***
I’m so pleased to hear that the members of the 1776 Commission will continue their work, despite the first-day-in-office executive order by President Biden to stop it.
God bless each member in this profoundly important effort to preserve and protect the integrity of our nation’s history.—Gary Appleton, Kettering, Ohio
Dear Daily Signal: I simply want to thank the 1776 Commission so much for continuing to meet and work, even though it has been officially disbanded (“President’s 1776 Commission’s Report Defending Nation’s History Draws Leftist Fire”). Knowing the members are doing this is an encouragement.
We private-schooled our children in solid Christian schools where true history was taught (the good and bad), and continue to support a local, classical Christian school.
God is sovereign, and may the people of this nation humble ourselves and turn to him in trust and obedience.—Minden Tooze, Oregon
***
Thanks for allowing us to comment again, even though it’s not as easy as before. Posturing and inflaming is just what President Biden did when he scrapped the 1776 Commission project. Please do continue as best you can, Commissioners.—Shanelle Hawk, Mayport, Pa.