On Thursday, we marked the 233rd anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. Constitution Day is an all-too-forgotten holiday that we seem to skip over each year, but it was the most groundbreaking document on government structure ever conceived in the history of the world.
As a state representative, I was honored with the opportunity to attend a local classroom to talk about the Constitution and how it continues to affect our lives. I was amazed to hear students as they answered my pointed questions about what the Constitution is and means to us today. Our social studies teachers are doing an amazing job.
However, there is a movement in our country to walk away from our history. The thought is it’s not perfect, so why should we talk about it? My thought, however, is it isn’t perfect, so we need to talk about it. We need to learn from the mistakes of the past to not replicate them in our future.
Often though, we “whitewash” our history. I don’t use that term in the racial point of view. What I mean is, we focus on the things that make us proud to be Americans. We skim over (at the very most) the dark points in our American past. But to understand what makes America great, we need to bring those dark points into the light. This will help us understand how we can be better. We need to focus on the contributions of people of all genders, ethnicities and races that have made our country the greatest in the history of the world.
During the past four months or so, I have worked with leaders in our community to develop a bill to work on bringing a more robust curriculum on American history to our students. We have a lot to do to get it right. But in an announcement today at the White House Conference on American History, President Donald Trump created a new commission focused on patriotic education in our schools, called the 1776 Commission.
In his remarks at the conference, the president stated: “On this very day in 1787, our Founding Fathers signed the Constitution at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. It was the fulfillment of a thousand years of Western civilization. Our Constitution was the product of centuries of tradition, wisdom and experience. No political document has done more to advance the human condition or propel the engine of progress.
“... From Washington to Lincoln, from Jefferson to King, America has been home to some of the most incredible people who have ever lived. With the help of everyone here today, the legacy of 1776 will never be erased. Our heroes will never be forgotten. Our youth will be taught to love America with all of their heart and all of their soul.”
I believe if we can educate our youth (and by extension, their parents) about our true history, we can come to the table to discuss issues in a sincere way to develop solutions that will make us a “more perfect union.”
Rep. Jon Hawkins represents District 57 in the Utah State House of Representatives.