TEXT JOIN TO 77022

The Great American Rewrite is Upon Us

“The past was alterable. The past never had been altered. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia.”

This quote from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of the prime examples of how the novel’s tyrannical regime, “Oceania,” rewrites history at whim, with no opposition whatsoever from a subdued and neutered populace.

If there is one way in which the modern Left has improved upon Orwell’s example, it is in its tendency to at least offer some sort of justification for their rewriting of history. If the government of Oceania from Orwell’s novel had added the caveat that they were at war with Eastasia for “racial justice,” then Orwell would have been the most flawless oracle of the last 100 years.

Taking Orwell’s works as how-to manuals rather than warnings, the Left has now set their sights on an even more insidious—and far more personal—attempt at revisionist history: They are now moving full-speed ahead to rewrite the very history of our nation’s founding.

No True Founding

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) launched its own “Task Force on Racism” last year, at the height of the race riots that tore through the country. Its goal was to determine any cases of “systemic racism” within the NARA system. Led by an Obama appointee named David Ferriero, the report, released in April of this year, declared with no evidence that there is an “overarching system of racial bias” in the way NARA operates. One unintentionally hilarious claim—worthy of a scene out of “National Treasure”—locates the epicenter of this racism in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol.

As far as this report is concerned, nothing is sacred anymore. The Rotunda, which houses some of America’s significant works of art, is guilty of  celebrating “wealthy White men in the nation’s Founding, while marginalizing BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color), women, and other communities.” The NARA report calls for assembling a “diverse group of contemporary artists” to “reimagine” the Rotunda by painting new murals that include people of every race.

Roughly translated, what this means is that the National Archives—the very entity tasked with protecting some of the most sacred artefacts from American history, including our founding documents—is now recommending that our history be rewritten to accommodate 21st-century sensitivities, with historical facts subordinated to the secular religion of multiculturalism. Never mind the small detail that slaves, women, and Indians are not depicted at the signing of the Declaration of Independence because there were none present for that event; representation comes first, reality comes second.

Rewriting the Past

In an American Greatness column back in April, Dennis Prager noted the indisputable fact that America, and most of Western Civilization, was built by white people. More so than any other group, the WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) contributed the most to making America the “shining city on a hill” that it was for the longest time. This, of course, does not automatically mean that white people are superior. It does mean that people of all races on earth were not equally represented at the crucial events of the American founding. 

But the Left doesn’t care about the truth; they are forever enraged by the fact that their preferred minority groups cannot logically claim any piece of the pie that is America’s founding. As such, their only option is to rewrite history and hope that, as in Orwell’s world, the populace will eventually stop questioning their pseudo-history—not for fear of direct government suppression, but an arguably worse form of tyranny in the form of social isolation, best demonstrated today by cancel culture.

To some extent, they have already succeeded. Such absurdities as the NARA report would not be possible without a culture that had absorbed the notion that all white people are automatically racist, the backbone of critical race theory. By successfully demonizing the descendants of those who did the most to build this nation, the rest of the population is desensitized to the point that they will hardly notice or care if further steps are taken to erase white people’s history in the name of “racial justice.”

Prior to leftist propaganda like the “1619 Project,” the culture had already accepted softer rewrites of our history, such as the inexplicable popularity of the musical “Hamilton.” The depraved minds behind that mediocre display were explicit about their intentions to cast only minorities as the founders, even though—and this should not have to be said aloud—George Washington was not black, and Alexander Hamilton was not Hispanic.

The latest “soft” rewrite of our history is the newest federal holiday, “Juneteenth.” Setting aside that no one even knew what Juneteenth was until last year, the official name of this new holiday—which has been generally overlooked—should be cause for great worry among all decent American citizens: “Juneteenth National Independence Day.”

Like the “1619 Project,” this insidious effort by far-Left radicals and black nationalists is not merely an effort to create a holiday specifically for black people, it is an attempt to claim that the “true” founding of America was not July 4th, 1776.

Rewriting the Present

The events of the past and our future understanding of them can only be secured in the present. No man did more to try to expose and stop these Orwellian efforts than President Donald J. Trump.

Because of that, it was not enough for the Left to try to destroy him while he was in office—they continue even to this day. The “Russian collusion” hoax, the two(!) impeachments, or the bogus new charges against the Trump organization—these are just a hint of what the Left truly wants to do to Donald Trump. They don’t just want to take out the man, they have to take out the historical figure.

With assistance from their coronated “experts” in academia, efforts are already underway to retroactively label President Trump as one of the absolute worst presidents in American history. Most recently, C-SPAN conducted a survey of “presidential historians” ranking all 44 presidents (excluding Joe Biden). Not surprisingly, this hand-picked group ranked President Trump 41st out of 44; only Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson, and James Buchanan were ranked lower.

This academic truculence is nothing new. In late February of 2018, just over one year after his inauguration, the American Political Science Association conducted its own survey of political scientists who “specialize” in the American presidency.

This survey declared Donald Trump to be the absolute worst, the bottom of the barrel, the dead-last American president, at 44th place. He had only been in office for a little over one year.

Siena College would repeat a similar farce the following year, with its own study in February of 2019, just halfway through Trump’s first term. They gave him the 42nd spot out of 44.

In both the APSA and Siena studies, President Trump had not yet achieved some of his most historic accomplishments, including the peace summits with North Korea, the passage of his historic trade deal, the record-breaking number of judicial confirmations, or his numerous peace deals in the Middle East, including finally negotiating the long-awaited end to the longest war in American history.

The Left is well aware that control of the most crucial institutions in America today—particularly the education system—is the key to controlling the future. The only ones who can speak out in defense of Trump’s historic, and highly successful presidency are those who are alive here and now, those who voted for him, and those who lived through his accomplishments. In another 50 years, when most, if not all, of those people are gone, all that will be left are the history books, written with glee by the winners.

If the Left succeeds, history will simply be whatever the woke say it is, and no one will be the wiser.

 

Get the news corporate media won't tell you.

Get caught up on today's must read stores!

By submitting your information, you agree to receive exclusive AG+ content, including special promotions, and agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms. By providing your phone number and checking the box to opt in, you are consenting to receive recurring SMS/MMS messages, including automated texts, to that number from my short code. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to end. SMS opt-in will not be sold, rented, or shared.

About Eric Lendrum

Eric Lendrum graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was the Secretary of the College Republicans and the founding chairman of the school’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter. He has interned for Young America’s Foundation, the Heritage Foundation, and the White House, and has worked for numerous campaigns including the 2018 re-election of Congressman Devin Nunes (CA-22). He is currently a co-host of The Right Take podcast.

Photo: Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images