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Former George W. Bush assistant encourages government students to preserve American history

Photo by Logan Smith

 

Tim Goeglein, vice president for external and government relations at Focus on the Family, has been a familiar face at Liberty University for over two decades, frequently visiting campus to speak to students in the Helms School of Government.

On Feb. 7-8, Goeglein spoke to six government classes as well as the Dean’s Council about his new book, “Toward a More Perfect Union: The Moral and Cultural Case for Teaching the Great American Story,” and the importance of understanding and teaching accurate history and civics schools.

“Liberty University is overwhelmingly my favorite university or college in the United States,” Goeglein said. “The whole practical worldview of my Christian worldview is present at Liberty University. It’s present in the undergraduate experience, it’s present in the graduate experience, and the way that the students relate to each other is the real model of civility and magnanimity and grace.”

Goeglein has worked extensively in high-level government roles, serving as Special Assistant to President George W. Bush from 2001-08 and as the Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. He is also the author of two other books: his political memoir, “The Man in the Middle: Faith and Politics in the George W. Bush Era” and “American Restoration: How Faith, Family, and Personal Sacrifice can Heal our Nation.” Goeglein currently champions God’s role in the public square in his role at Focus on the Family in Washington, D.C.

Goeglein’s motive for writing the book, he said, stemmed from what he sees is a national misunderstanding of the American story. He said many schools, from the elementary to the graduate level, have incorrectly integrated false narratives about the United States, including the teachings of the 1619 Project, into their curriculum.

His book has a chapter entirely dedicated to Howard Zinn, a self-identifying Neo-Marxist, who wrote history textbooks in the 1950s that substituted history for ideology.

Photo by Titus Pettman

“This is a plague of constitutional and historic illiteracy,” he told students. “Howard Zinn’s narrative has become the dominant narrative now in the teaching of history literally at every level, from Pre-K all the way up to grad school.”

The 1619 Project claims that the “real America” began when slaves first touched American soil and that the context of history must be examined under the lens of Critical Race Theory. Goeglein hopes that his book sheds light on these inaccuracies and informs people of America’s exceptionalism.

“(The 1619 Project) is the Howard Zinn project of the 21st century,” Goeglein said. “The 1619 Project was born in the boardroom at The New York Times. Their goal — using all the social engines, influence, and power of the most prominent newspaper in the world — is to create a new narrative of American history, to erase the present memory of American history, and to put forward a totally ideological understanding of our nation.”

Goeglein spoke on the importance of teaching accurate American history by teachers and leaders who care about facts and not an ideological narrative.

“As a nation we are becoming more historically and constitutionally illiterate,” said Goeglein. “Beginning in the 1950s, the goal on the part of many progressive ‘historians’ was to erase our history and replace it with a new narrative, even if that narrative was not true.”

“One of the many reasons I love Liberty University is that all of us in this room work very hard to live counterculturally and to live transformative (lives) in a dominant culture that does not share our worldview,” he added.

Goeglein’s book is available for purchase faithfultext.com

Photo by Logan Smith
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