Textbooks in American history stand in sharp contrast to other teaching materials. Why are history textbooks so bad? Nationalism is one of the culprits. Textbooks are often muddled by the conflicting desires to promote inquiry and to indoctrinate blind patriotism. “Take a look in your history book, and you’ll see why we should be proud” goes an anthem often sung by high school glee clubs. But we need not even look inside. The titles themselves tell the story: The Great Republic; The American Pageant; Land of Promise, Triumph of the American Nation. Such titles differ from the titles of all other textbooks students read in high school or college. Chemistry books, for example, are called Chemistry or Principles of Chemistry, not Triumph of the Molecule. And you can tell history textbooks just from their covers, graced as they are with American flags, bald eagles, the Washington Monument.
shockingly bad or excessive ”an outrageous act of bribery’‘
very bold, unusual, or startling “her outrageous leotards and sexy routines”
In recent years more and more acts seem outrageous, at least compared to behavior of say, 10 years ago. We seem to be less civil, less engaged, less friendly. Much of that behavior stems from the actions of politicos and their followers, but it also reaches deeper into our neighborhoods and casual interactions with others we encounter during the exercise of our daily lives.
I thought it would be interesting to catalog some of these interactions, and hopefully cause some to consider their own contribution to the weakening of the fabric that was once considered essential in American life.
My hope is to keep the list updated with the latest instances of outrageous behavior that come to my attention. Of course, if you have other examples, I’d love to share them with other visitors. Feel free to leave examples in the comment section.
Outrage #1: Republicans in Georgia nominate Herschel Walker for the United States Senate.
The members of the Republican Party of Georgia nominated former University of Georgia football star, Herschel Walker to represent them in the “world’s greatest deliberative body.” Walker, with no legislative or political experience, was endorsed by former president Donald John Trump, and apparently the people of Georgia are okay with whatever Trump wants.
During a recent campaign event in Georgia, speaking on the topic of climate change, Walker said:
Since we don’t control air, our good air decided to float over to China’s bad air. So when China gets our good air, their bad air got to move. So, it moves over to our good air space. Then — now we got we to clean that back up.
Herschel Walker, Republican U.S. Senate nominee, Georgia
Of course, as we’re reported before, this isn’t Walker’s first brain freeze. Actually, his brain seems to be frozen much more often than it is operates normally. Of course it’s entirely possible his version of normal is different from the rest of us.
“If you don’t believe in the country, leave and go somewhere else. If it’s the worst state, why are you here? Why don’t you leave? Go to another — there’s, what, 51 more other states that you can go to?
Herschel Walker, apparently one of the smartest Republicans in Georgia
It’s possible that Walker wins this election against the incumbent, Reverend Raphael Warnock. If he does, we should consider eliminating the Senate. It will have become a haven for idiots. (See: Marsha Blackburn). And maybe this is the method Republicans have agreed upon as the quickest way to destroy democracy in the United States — elect enough unqualified people to important positions in the government that it implodes.
