Earlier this week, Donald Trump re-emphasized the importance of teaching American exceptionalism in schools, which is a part of his presidential campaign platform:
Children must be taught that America is “an exceptional, free and just nation, worth defending, preserving and protecting,” Donald Trump saidhttps://t.co/HHIWY5sICI
— POLITICO (@politico) September 2, 2020
But if you don’t see something sinister in that, you’re not paying attention. You know who is paying attention, though? Professor and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul.
He knows what’s up:
"Patriotic education." This sounds exactly like Putin to me. https://t.co/mvAyQuwubP
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) September 2, 2020
Exactly like Putin!
OK, so what exactly did Trump say? It must’ve been pretty bad, right?
Here is the fuller Trump quote that Michael is calling Putin-esque: "The only path to unity is to rebuild a shared national identity focused on common American values & virtues – of which we have plenty. This includes restoring patriotic education in our nation's schools." https://t.co/nA1p6CHlME
— JERRY DUNLEAVY (@JerryDunleavy) September 2, 2020
The article that Michael is quote tweeting & calling Putin-esque also mentions (& uses as its sub-headline) that Trump said: "We must teach our children that America is an exceptional, free, & just nation worth defending, preserving, & protecting – and that’s what we want to do."
— JERRY DUNLEAVY (@JerryDunleavy) September 2, 2020
Wait. That’s … actually not outrageous at all.
TIL that my traditional small town Texas education that extolled the virtues of America and liberty are Putinesque
— ?Boko ‘KRHDNW’ Harambe? (@BokoHarambe) September 2, 2020
How do we maintain societal cohesion if we don't share an understanding of what makes our society unique and (dare I say it) great?
We're united by ideals. Without teaching these ideals, we lose the purpose of our existence.— Pete Kaliner (@PeteKaliner) September 2, 2020
It used to be called civics. Pretty sure every country in the world taught it to their children, but yeah, muh Russia?
— 6 Feet & Cloth Masks are Pseudoscience (@LaffersNapkin) September 2, 2020
Russia, Russia, Russia.
Took less than a year for McFaul to turn patriotism into Putinism:https://t.co/98gRBQJDGT
— Nick Carroll (@LibertyAndTech) September 2, 2020