Arizona is the second state to adopt anti-communist teaching guidelines.
Governor Doug Ducey (R-AZ) signed House Bill 2008 into law on June 17th, 2022, tweeting, “SIGNED: H.B. 2008.This bill is another point for Arizona’s strong civics education. Students will learn about other nation’s governing philosophies & form a deeper understanding for the freedoms and rights Americans are guaranteed. @QuangNguyenAZ.”
What HB 2008 Does
HB 2008 instructs the State Board of Education (SBE) “to update its high school social studies academic standards to incorporate a comparative discussion of political ideologies, such as communism and totalitarianism, that conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy that are essential to the founding principles of the United States of America.”
The bill was championed by Arizona State Representative Quang Nguyen, a refugee from communist Vietnam.
“Having grown up in Vietnam and survived three communist invasions, I have a deep love and appreciation for the United States and its freedoms, which are guaranteed to all,” said State Representative Quang Nguyen in a press release. “It’s my intent for Arizona’s students to graduate with a similar appreciation for what it means to be an American. This civics standards update will help ensure that our students are taught the brutal facts of oppressive communist systems and how they are fundamentally antithetical to America’s founding principles.”
Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, an educational, research, and human rights nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring the 100 million plus global victims of communism, praised the bill’s passage:
VOC President and CEO Ambassador Andrew Bremberg commented on the Arizona legislation saying, “Educating people on the crimes of communism is the cornerstone of VOC’s mission. This education is especially crucial for America’s youth during their formative years, so we applaud Arizona for ensuring their students will receive this education. VOC’s most recent poll on US Attitudes Toward Socialism, Communism, and Collectivism further proves the necessity of student education on communism, as only 63% of Gen Z and Millennials believe the Declaration of Independence better ‘guarantees freedom and equality’ over the Communist Manifesto.”
The Fight to Teach Communism’s Horrors Has Just Begun
Back in May, Florida became the inaugural state to adopt these updated education guidelines after Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a similar bill into law.
And with Arizona jumping on board, more states could (and should) follow their lead.
How is momentum building to reform educational standards? Two ways.
First, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) adopted the Florida and Arizona bills as “model policy” under the American Civics and History Act.
Section 2.2 of the Act stipulates that states “offer a comparative and objective analysis of ideologies throughout American and world history, including but not limited to capitalism, republicanism, democracy, socialism, communism, totalitarianism, and fascism. This analysis shall utilize examples of political freedoms and economic development under such ideologies and include historical first-person oral accounts relating to each.”
Similarly, a Congressional push through Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL)’s Crucial Communism Teaching (CCT) Act can export it nationally, as well. As I noted at Townhall recently, her bill would do the following:
In December, Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) introduced H.R. 6123, or the Crucial Communism Teaching (CCT) Act. This bill, if passed, would direct “the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation to develop a civic education curriculum and oral history resources for high school students to promote understanding of certain political ideologies (e.g., communism and totalitarianism) that conflict with principles of U.S. democracy.”
This push couldn’t come at a better time. Polling suggests younger generations in the U.S. have a friendly view of tyrannical socialist regimes. That’s terrifying.
According to the most recent U.S. Attitudes Toward Socialism, Communism, and Collectivism survey, socialism’s favorability stands at 40% compared to 36% in 2019. The survey, however, notes Marxism’s favorability is starting to wane—with Gen Z at 30% and Millennials at 27%.
The survey was first conducted in 2016 and explores “perceptions of collectivist systems, such as communism and socialism, among Americans ages 16 or older.”
Conclusion
As parents become more involved in their kids’ education, they should not only demand school choice but also reforming school curriculum guidelines to teach students the truth about socialism and communism.
Education of these horrors should be on par with teaching about the horrors of Nazi Germany, which is, sadly, facing its challenges too. In a September 2020 Claims Conference survey, over 60 percent of respondents revealed their ignorance about six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust. That’s abominable and shouldn’t become the norm.
Nazism and Communism should be equally reviled. And changing perceptions about these evil ideologies, including socialism, starts by first educating high school students.