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Preach it, brotha! Yes. This is dead on point. So true. We can ‘walk and chew gum’ as Dems like to say, at the same time. America is profoundly flawed and imperfect, yet it is simultaneously a wondrous beacon of democratic glory. The far-right view that criticizing our nation is unpatriotic is ridiculous; that said, so is CRT. The idea that CRT is the antidote to far-right historical extremism is patently absurd. Consider the so-called 1619 Project. Prominent historians have pointed out the obvious historical holes in this ideology. I think we have, can and should teach American history from all sides in all its glorious, nasty complexity. Slavery, for example, historically-speaking, was horrific yet incredibly common; Africa itself was doing it (Africans enslaving other Africans) before, during and after the West ended the disgusting institution. We fought a brutally bloody civil war to end it. Much has changed for the better. We aren’t perfect. In some ways we can still improve. But c’mon. Middle ground, people; between the two extremes is the solution. And that’s where most Americans stand. Gordon Wood’s ‘Power and Liberty’ and James M. McPherson’s ‘Battle Cry for Freedom; The Civil War Era’ are recommended reading in this vein. Honest, in-depth, not extreme or ideological, and from the center-left POV.

Michael Mohr Sincere American Writing https://michaelmohr.substack.com/