MSNBC was still trying to boost President Biden’s creepy diatribe about “MAGA Republicans” on Sunday, but some guests weren’t cooperating. On The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart, the usual line came from former Biden speechwriter Jeffrey Nussbaum said ”unless we heed and act on what the president said, we’re going to hear these words again almost as democracy’s eulogy.”
The dissenter from Biden’s left was Daina Ramey Berry, the Michael Douglas Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts at UC Santa Barbara (yes, that Michael Douglas!). The speech was “great,” but…
I think one of the things that he did, was he actually excluded some groups of people. And I hate to be the dissenter among the group. I thought it was a great speech. But he ignored indigenous Americans, African Americans. If he was anchoring himself in 1776, there were a lot of people that were not included in “we the people” in 1776.
Ah yes, 1776, the year that racist Americans view as the beginning of America’s history. Whereas all woke folk know that America’s real history began in 1619.
From Berry’s bio:
“She created a 5th grade Social Studies curriculum and serves as a lead author for the next edition of McGraw Hill’s middle school and high school American history textbooks.”
But Berry is not satisfied with indoctrinating kids with her 1619-style curriculum. She literally wants to subject the entire country to it!
Capehart fretted that he was unsure if our country can get through the current supposed threat to democracy. He asked Berry if the US can avoid civil war. She responded that we can:
RAMEY BERRY: We can get through this. One of the ways I think we can is if we take a national history lesson, where we all read a syllabus of books, so that we understand our nation’s history. So that we understand where we’ve come from and where we’re going. So that we can understand when we talk about “we the people,” who was excluded and how we can bring people into this conversation. And if we have a country that understands where we came from, I think we’ll be in a much better position.
CAPEHART: Right. And I agree with you on that, Daina. If more of the American people not only knew our history, but knew the true pieces of our history, even the uncomfortable pieces, we would have a better understanding of where we’ve been, who we are, and where we can go. Given some of the incremental progress we have been able to make.
Kids in government schools and their parents don’t have much choice about being forced to follow these CRT/1619-style curricula when liberal teachers and administrators impose them as a means of correcting “white privilege.”
But just how would Berry propose to force all Americans to “read a syllabus of books where we understand [from a CRT/1619 perspective] our nation’s history? Pass a law making it a crime not to read those books? Everyone’s going to mandatory night school?
The only way to avoid a civil war is for everyone to “realize” the blacks and native Americans weren’t treated well? As if everyone didn’t hear that in school?
This 1619 moment on MSNBC’s The Sunday Show With Jonathan Capehart was sponsored in part by Humana, AT&T, Pfizer, maker of Cibinqo, Subway, and 4Imprint.
Here’s the transcript.
MSNBC
The Sunday Show With Jonathan Capehart
9/4/22
10:19 am EDTJONATHAN CAPEHART: Let’s talk about the stagecraft, which was roundly criticized, especially by those in the far right. Independence Hall is awash in red and blue. But red was prominently behind President Biden. How much does stagecraft play into what the president says?
JEFFREY NUSSBAUM: It does. And by the, way I have been nothing but a failed events person, so I’m terrible at the stagecraft aspect of it.
But I do think it was meant to convey a seriousness of purpose. The ruffles and flourishes, the Hail to the Chief, even the First Lady being there, was kind of creating this as a moment. And it is a moment. It’s a moment where, I think, unless we heed and act on what the president said, we’re going to hear these words again almost more as democracy’s eulogy.
. . .
DAINA RAMEY BERRY: And I think one of the things that he did, was he actually excluded some groups of people. And I hate to be the dissenter among the group. I thought it was a great speech. But he ignored indigenous Americans, African Americans. If he was anchoring himself in 1776, there were a lot of people that were not included in “we the people” in 1776.
CAPEHART: You know, the president said that he remains optimistic that this nation will weather this storm. As a historian, do you agree? Because, I’m not so sure.
It took a bloody war for us to come together as a nation. It took civil rights acts, voting rights acts. It’s still taking another civil war. And I worry that we’re on the precipice of another war. We are the most divisive as I’ve seen us since the Civil War, and we lost a lot of lives. 700 [sic, presumably 700,000] lives were lost in the Civil War. I think we’re more divided than we ever have been.
CAPEHART: But do, but again, do you think, though, that we can get through this?
RAMEY BERRY: We can get through this. One of the ways I think we can is if we take a national history lesson, where we all read a syllabus of books, so that we understand our nation’s history. So that we understand where we’ve come from and where we’re going. So that we can understand when we talk about “we the people,” who was excluded and how we can bring people into this conversation. And if we have a country that understands where we came from, I think we’ll be in a much better position.
CAPEHART: Right. And I agree with you on that, Daina. If more of the American people not only knew our history, but knew the true pieces of our history, even the uncomfortable pieces, we would have a better understanding of where we’ve been, who we are, and where we can go. Given some of the incremental progress we have been able to make.