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If you haven't read the #1776Commission report, please do. If you (like me) grew up with conservative Christian education, a lot of this will be very familiar to you, just now at the national level. If you didn't, you need to know that this is what kids are being taught.
That said, it's a very intimidating 45 page read, and I fully understand not wanting to waste your time reading this crap, so I'll be posting some highlights to this thread.
Starting off strong with well-known language to inspire patriotic/nationalistic pride. "Americans are always the good guys" will hold as theme through the whole document. #1776Commission
Translation: a history of those principles which justifies every action taken or not taken, because we are only allowed to display positive and unwavering loyalty to the United States. #1776Commission
The city on a hill is a Christian nationalist idea, similar to the Christian idea of being the "salt of the earth." Basically it means that the United States is supposed to be such an amazing country, that every other country should want to be like us. #1776Commission
Note the framing here. This phrasing puts the colonists on the same side as the Confederates, and the Union on the side of King George. #1776Commission
The conservative Christian narrative is that the Union, like King George, was overstepping its bounds, creating unfair pressure (on the institution of slavery) and oppressing the South without consideration for its cultural and economic value. #1776Commission
In case you missed it, the U.S. government is telling you that asking for social justice or anything else on the liberal agenda is an "unrealistic hope" and going too far. #1776Commission
Translation: "Good citizens don't acknowledge that the United States has ever been on the wrong side of history." This is American supremacy at it's clearest. #1776Commission
This is a variation of the Christian idea of "imperfect people being used by a perfect God" which Christians use as an excuse to ignore some of the horrible things done by Biblical figures. #1776Commission
I know if you've never been part of conservative Christianity some of these points may seem like a stretch, but I promise you the Christian right is not missing these connections, especially not when they are being made by the Trump administration, which they view as a savior.
For anyone who's counting, we have now reached the end of the introduction. We new begin section 2, The Meaning of the Declaration.
This is a set up. "You're just like everyone else, but actually better because you're American" mirrors the church teaching that "You're just like everyone else, but actually better because you're Christian" False humility feeds the belief of supremacy. #1776Commission
Another common theme in this document is pretending like indigenous American populations didn't exist. #1776Commission
This feeds American exceptionalism - "we are the best of history because we made it work when the few who tried, couldn't do it." It's also not really true, but I'll leave those details to actual historians. #1776Commission
1. This is not unique. 2. This is a weird point to make. 3. This is a personal pet peeve. You don't celebrate your birthday one the day you were conceived. The United States's birthday is actually October 19, 1781. #1776Commission
Remember when I said that pretending indigenous American populations never existed was a theme of this document? Here's some more indigenous erasure for you. #1776Commission
