Toward A More Perfect Union is a must-read book and a timely and uncomfortable reminder of how even I, someone who loves history and especially the history of this Constitutional Republic, have forgotten about or didn’t know about the history of this nation.

“Historian Arthur Schlesinger warned about this when he said, “History is to the nation much as the memory is to the individual. The individual who loses his memory doesn’t know where he came from or where he’s going, and he becomes dislocated and disoriented.”

I could stop right there and just tell you to read the book, but that’s not enough. WHY should you read this book? Because our Republic needs to be taught once again why our collective American history is so important. We need to be able to articulate why the STORIES behind all those statues being torn down, and the statues themselves are so damned important to understanding how each person and their work are integral building blocks of the fabric and history of this country. 

As the authors point out, Frederick Douglass, born of a slave and a white man and kept as a slave for years, was more important to the fight against slavery that even the history books when I was in school in the ’80’s taught us. Douglass traveled the world speaking against slavery, and he ALSO advocated for the women’s right to vote. But that’s not all. He spoke for and even against Abraham Lincoln in an even-handed way that showed he understood the complexities of the situation, the impatience of those who wanted A or B, and more. Yet is was HIS statue, in a park in Rochester NY that was torn down and tossed aside on a riverbank. NONE of those cretins who tore the statue of Frederick Douglass down had any understanding of the scope of his work, NOR did they realize the statue was erected over one of the key Underground Railroad sites. 

This is where we are, as the authors point out time and again throughout this book. Statues are torn down because someone (individual) screeched that person was bad because reasons. Except the reasons ignore the entirety of that historical individual’s scope of work IN THEIR TIME. 

AOC, when elected, didn’t have a clue about the three branches of government. Joe Biden (his handlers really) want to use the 14th Amendment to work around the debt ceiling issue. Except that the plain reading of that Amendment isn’t as clear cut as they want us to think. 

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

But again, people will buy into this without questioning the validity of Joe’s plan, NOR will people take the time to READ the 14th Amendment nor the back ground behind it. 

Howard Zinn and the 1619 Project are ably shredded with receipts. Furthermore, the authors point out the many many flaws in Zinn and Nikole Hannah-Jones willful cherry picking of history to suit their narratives. Which, in turn, leads to divisiveness and a hatred of our Founders and zero understanding of our Constitution. 

The quotes they use at the start of each chapter are an education in and of itself. 

“It’s a universal law—intolerance is the first sign of an inadequate education. An ill-educated person behaves with arrogant impatience, whereas a truly profound education breeds humility.1
ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN”

And those who are preaching the intolerance and trying to make us toe their line while shunting civil norms and history aside are the very people Solzhenitsyn is speaking of. And by giving the cancel culture wide latitude, what we are losing is the very core and national identity that has made this Constitutional Republic great. 

Too many elected officials, teachers, professors, and adults have no understanding of the Declaration of Independance, the role (the REAL role) of the Supreme Court, how laws are made, and more. 

Our kids and grand kids have no idea who our nation’s Presidents were and are. They have no idea how laws are made. They believe everything is a right and therefore is in the Constitution and are gobsmacked to find out it isn’t. They don’t understand what free speech REALLY means, nor do they understand that canceling history means canceling the very fabric of this country. The same fabric that gives them the right to behave like asshats when people come to speak at their school or university. 

This is why this book is so important now. 

The history of this Constitutional Republic should be taught and discussed, but it hasn’t been for decades. And it should be discussed through the lens of understanding that they were men and women of their time. Casting them aside and ignoring their efforts, their work, and their love for this country because of perceived flaws from today’s lens is a disservice to us all. 

This book brings forth some uncomfortable truths and also provides the start of a blueprint of righting the ship. I urge you all to read it, ponder, learn, and go forth to help right this ship back “Toward A More Perfect Union.”

Feature Photo Credit: Victory Girls Darleen Click