The Sine Qua Non (the indispensable thing) of a great nation is great patriotism. Patriotism is a composite of love of country; respect for its flag; trusted leadership; the sum of its virtue; a proud history; the quality and content of its system of education; a diligent, strong, and respected military; a trusted judicial system; freedom to worship; and a unified vision for its future.

The Left is doing all possible to dismantle or dramatically change each of the elements above. Moreover, they are using open borders and the removal of all voting restrictions to ensure that elections are heavily weighted to support their agenda. Additionally, they push Critical Race Theory (CRT) to control the historical narrative in our schools and colleges, notwithstanding the fact that this theory creates division among the citizenry while convincing Black children that whites are racist and that their white classmates and teachers possess special privileges and cannot be trusted — after all, their ancestors were once slave owners. Worst of all, CRT perpetuates the glass ceiling syndrome that the odds are against them in America, and the Left is their only hope. What a farce!

There was a time, and I remember it well when public education did more than educate the intellect. We sang patriotic and religious songs in elementary school, and there was an expectation within a family that a second curriculum existed that trained the heart, soul, and spirit. We sang the National Anthem, repeated the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, and opened the day with a morning prayer. Unfortunately, little by little the Left has chipped away at these cornerstones of patriotism.

For the past 25 years, I have been involved at the highest levels of private secondary and higher education as a senior administrator and consultant. I have grown to appreciate the values inculcated in the second curriculum in military and other private schools that are much less inhibited in the areas of whole person development and Christian living. Not one of the schools or colleges had armed police officers on campus. Do parents realize that those police officers in public schools are present to counter the “internal threat” rather than the “external threat” to their students?

It is obvious that not all can afford the cost of a private, wholistic education due to constantly escalating costs. Of course, the Left has continually blocked the use of school vouchers to make private education affordable to all. It is obvious that the National Education Association and others do not want to give up control of its Left-based curriculum. It is sad that all students can no longer receive the patriotic and religious grounding that was once part and parcel to American education.

This is but the tip of the problem facing American education and patriotism. I best describe this prose as the “what” of the problem. The “how” to fix it is much more complex, and it takes place at the polls. The recent election results in Virginia offer hope that has missing for a long time.