Sherman R. Frederick/Properly Subversive
here’s something about this picture. It floats around the internet and pops up on my computer every once in a while. It appears to be students in the 1950s pledging allegiance to the flag, hand over heart, with a lucky kid chosen to hold up the flag.
Sherman Frederick
I wondered if that’s still a thing in Nevada schools, so I asked my daughter, who is an assistant principal in an elementary school in Las Vegas. She didn’t know what all schools do, but she said her school pledges allegiance to the flag at the start of every school day, followed by 30 seconds of silence.
Her school is an “at risk” school, which means it likely has a number of immigrant students.
I was glad to hear it because the United States of America remains a hope for the world, economically and in so many other ways. Wherever you’re reading this column today, I hope the schools in your town do the same.
No child should leave elementary school without a good, safe feeling about life, liberty and the American way. We can teach critical thinking in civics classes during the last two years of high school.There’s plenty to discuss.
America’s commitment to public education is the envy of the world. Education is not just for the rich, but for all — even immigrants without status.
We are a generous country. In those formative years a few minutes a day for pomp and circumstance, like the picture above, engenders a healthy love for America.
UNHINGED
How unhinged has the American left become over losing power to Donald Trump? They openly ask to throw Trump in jail, that’s how unhinged. Here’s liberal patron saint of lost causes Ralph Nader on the topic: “In light of the Supreme Court blocking all avenues of accountability for Trump with its decision in Trump v. United States, Judge Merchan is the last best hope to preserve the Republic from its overthrow by Donald Trump.”
This goes hand-in-hand with the memes comparing Donald Trump to Hitler. The irony, of course, is both Hitler and liberals embrace the same ideology: Identity politics. But the tragedy of using the Holocaust to bash political opponents is how it trivializes the Holocaust.
Hear Edna Friedberg, an historian at the Museum’s William Levine Family Institute for Holocaust Education:
“Nazis seem to be everywhere these days. I don’t mean self-proclaimed neo-Nazis. I’m talking about folks being labeled as Nazis, Hitler, Gestapo, Goering — take your pick — by their political opponents. American politicians from across the ideological spectrum, influential media figures, and ordinary people on social media casually use Holocaust terminology to bash anyone or any policy with which they disagree. The takedown is so common that it’s even earned its own term, reductio ad Hitlerum.
“This trend is far from new, but it is escalating at a disturbing rate in increasingly polarized times. The Holocaust has become shorthand for good vs. evil; it is the epithet to end all epithets. And the current environment of rapid fire online communication and viral memes lends itself particularly well to this sort of sloppy analogizing. Worse, it allows it to spread more widely and quickly.”
Thanks for reading. Remember to laugh a little, avoid soreheads and always question authority. You can see more Properly Subversive columns at Shermanfrederick.substack.com and you can also follow Mr. Frederick on Facebook and X.
