learn from the past if we identify with it. This does not mean feeling ashamed. Pride is part of patriotism, and Americans have very good reason to be proud. It does mean listening to people who have other attitudes to the past. Only by knowing others can we build the institutions that are right for everyone. It is incongruous, in any event, to take pride without taking responsibility. Schools must teach the hard parts of American history—those censored by cowards as “divisive concepts.” People who are taught to fear “divisive concepts” cannot be sovereign, since they will lack the terms of
...more
