schools, etc., and ending with the phrase, “Thank you, Uncle Sam!” No funding’s come
through yet, but I still think this has potential.^250
The final thing we need to do is reinstitute civics. When I was growing up, everyone took
a civics course. It gave a distinctly celebratory view of American institutions: the
Constitution and separation of powers, the Bill of Rights’ guarantees of freedom of
speech and religion, the presumption of innocence, and trial by jury. By the time I got to
college, the new social history shifted to social movements and oppressed groups. That
shaped the way American school children are taught history. Celebrating our democracy
went out of fashion.
When Trump railed that he was going to put Hillary in jail, that didn’t sound un-American
to many voters. Having a president summarily jail a defeated opponent violates
separation of powers, trial by jury, and the presumption of innocence. The fact that more
voters were not repulsed by Trump’s statements is linked, I believe, to the demise of
civics. It’s time to bring back the teaching of American values. We can do so without
descending into jingoism or nationalism.
I have devoted my life to gender and race issues; I’m not suggesting that we abandon the
social history curriculum completely. But we need to make sure all Americans know not
only the ways our system has failed but also the ways it’s succeeded—if progressives
want to keep the social gains we’ve made in the past 50 years.
Part of the reason I’m convinced that we can improve Americans’ views of government
is because patriotism is so important to the white working class. J. D. Vance notes that his
grandmother “always had two gods: Jesus Christ and the United States of America. I was
no different, and neither was anyone else we knew.”^251 Patriotism is out of fashion in the
PME, especially among liberals, but remains robust in working-class circles. Being
American is one of the only high-status categories they belong to.^252 We all stress the
high-status social categories we belong to. I remember discussing this with a feminist
friend, who smiled as she recalled showing up at an important job interview “dripping
with pearls.”^253 She may have been a less plausible candidate as a woman, but she made
sure her prospective employers knew she was connected to the kind of people who
bought pearls. Lots of them.
- Why Don’t the People Who Benefit Most from Government Help Seem to Appreciate It?