Twitter Users Say Trump's Patriotic Education Plan Sounds Like Fascism
If patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel, what is “patriotic education” the last refuge of?
Apparently it’s fascism, at least according to the reaction of Twitter users to President Donald Trump’s newly announced 1776 Commission, which is supposed to “promote patriotic education” in schools, according to Axios.
The president’s plan, contained in an executive order to be signed Thursday, seems to be a direct reaction to The New York Times’ 1619 Project.
That Pulitzer Prize-winning project studied the effects of racial injustice by “placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.”
But the project’s focus on the country’s racial history didn’t sit well with Trump, who earlier this month threatened to defund schools that use it as an educational tool.
Many Twitter users noticed something interesting about the president’s plan: its similarity to the tactics used by authoritarian leaders.
Call it what it is: fascism. https://t.co/O4Xtg3j5Zu
— Ilan Ben-Meir (@ilanagain) September 17, 2020
Soooo…Trump wants to nationalize indoctrination, in the name of liberty?
I mean that does sound pretty American https://t.co/f9QHTU7KF9— Thom Thóin (@thomdunn) September 17, 2020
That definitely doesn't sound fascist or anything https://t.co/lVtu5av3pd
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) September 17, 2020
Would be slightly more believable if Trump wasn’t a Russian agent. https://t.co/c7ig6vdfJ3
— Arne Duncan (@arneduncan) September 17, 2020
If only Trump cared as much about PPE for health care workers as he does about PPE for white supremacists. https://t.co/STjomKopso
— Jesse Ferguson (@JesseFFerguson) September 17, 2020
This sounds awfully familiar…https://t.co/ZHeQPpR3Zmpic.twitter.com/7zXyKyv7Hp
— Aaron Mahnke (@amahnke) September 17, 2020