Leadership Development: Understanding True History Builds our Strength
Four years ago I wrote my premier how-to leadership resource, Millennials Matter: Proven Strategies for Building Your Next-Gen Leader. At the time, I was concerned about the gaps in leadership development for the future. Many people chose to stereotype, and even write off the Millennial generation. I wasn’t one of them. Instead, I saw great potential in them and empathized with them.
The world in which Millennials were trying to find their way, seemed a little crazy at times. In the four years that had passed, it appears that the world has been catapulted into more chaos, craziness, and cultural confusion than I could ever have imagined.
My concerns are not limited to leadership development in the world of sales and business – the arena in which I’ve honed my expertise. As a parent and grandparent, I am concerned for the very future of my children and grandchildren – a concern shared by many parents and grandparents across the country.
In the words of Michael B. Poliakoff, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA)…
“Our children and grandchildren hold the future of our country in their hands. They will either be educated by the “woke” or by those who understand the values that have made America exceptional and who want to transmit that knowledge to the rising generation of college students.”
Parents and grandparents know that leadership development starts at the kitchen table. Principles learned here will eventually impact a whole array of tables, including the boardroom table. That’s why I’m passionate that our children learn the 1776 version of American history.
Every time I read this quote from Ronald Reagan, it’s a stark reminder of the critical importance of leadership development at the kitchen table:
“Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. And those in world history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.”
I’ve written this OpEd a year ago…and it’s still relevant.
Let’s start with a quick survey. 
Choose one of the options below that most accurately describe your reaction to this statement:
“It is important for us as citizens and for our children and grandchildren to learn about American history.”
• I strongly agree.
• I don’t know.
• I don’t care.
• I strongly disagree.
I believe this is a critical statement to consider at this time.
Understanding true history builds our strength. For us, as a state and a nation, it allows us to maintain one of the greatest gifts we have…a constitutional republic.
Before we take a deep dive into this concept, I want to extend a note of appreciation to the North Dakota Senate for authorizing Senate Concurrent Resolution 4011. The official Bill Title, states, “A concurrent resolution urging Congress to establish a 1776 Commission and urging the United States Department of Education to develop educational materials that will provide education for students in accordance with the principles of the founding of America, the unifying ideals stated in the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and other founding documents.”
Interestingly, this resolution didn’t get very much press. And yet, when I talked to one of the co-sponsors, he considers this authorization to be of the utmost importance.
This news almost had me doing cartwheels in my living room. Why is it so important to be firmly grounded and rooted in who we are as a nation? What many people don’t know, is that the principles that were laid down in 1776 to build the framework of our constitution, have been fought for long before that date. As KrisAnn Hall writes in The Key to Understanding the Constitution, “Everything, every principle of government, every security to Liberty, and even at times the very language itself was taken from lessons learned from over 700 years of history and five essential Liberty Charters. It is this history that proves that the Constitution is not an arbitrary, living breathing document, but a document designed from blood-bought lessons in the historic struggle between liberty and tyranny.”
As an American citizen, I am deeply concerned about the destructive events that are taking place in our country. The destruction started many years ago but has now been accelerated by the chaos and uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Is this what America’s future looks like?
In times of turmoil and chaos, I turn to the one question I always ask.
What might we do to make a positive difference?
To answer this, let me backtrack to the opening question in this article…
Is it important for us as citizens and for our children and grandchildren to learn about our history?
As stated in Concurrent Resolution 4011, “there have been many challenges to America’s core principles and those challenges have been addressed during the history of the United States of America… …the nation can restore national unity by rekindling the rising generation’s knowledge of America’s founding principles through patriotic education, personal responsibility, and societal duties.”
This is not a quick fix. Rather, it is an intentional choice to understand our true history so that we are able to identify the alternative history that is being sneaked into our children’s curriculum under the name of critical race theory. Of course, it is rarely called that. The marketing gurus are pacifying parents, grandparents, and citizens with a justifiable narrative…diversity, equality, inclusion, tolerance, and social and emotional learning. (To check out my recent article series that explores the power of this leadership question, click HERE.)
This extract, from a speech delivered at a Hillsdale College reception in Rogers, Arkansas, on November 17, 2020, eloquently describes the plight of parents today…
“Younger parents aren’t sure that an unambivalent appreciation of America is the right thing to teach modern children. And as for those who create the popular culture, well-grounded patriotism is no longer the style.”
This speaker is spot on. Teaching and learning about American history has become unfashionable.
In 2016, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, (ACTA) published a report, No U.S. History? How College History Departments Leave the United States out of the Major. This report revealed that less than 33 percent of the nation’s leading colleges and universities require students pursuing a degree in history to take a single course in American history. At that time, ACTA’s president-elect, Michael Poliakoff, observed, “Historical illiteracy is the inevitable consequence of lax college requirements, and that ignorance leads to civic disempowerment. A democratic republic cannot thrive without well-informed citizens and leaders.”
I’ll ask my favorite question again, slightly tweaked. What might parents, grandparents, and citizens do to make a positive difference?
I submit that we need to be hyper-vigilant against the false history that’s being introduced in our country in order to undermine and divide us as a people and a nation. Our history tells the story of how we arrived at where we are today. It informs our understanding of the world, both past, and present. This understanding will enable us to make informed decisions about our future. By studying the trends and cycles of history, leaders can apply their knowledge to prepare better for the future.
Above all, we need to teach our children that America is ultimately about freedom – freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise. And freedom is precious and needs to be protected. If anything served as a stark reminder of how easy it is to lose what we take for granted, the Covid-19 pandemic is it.
What will you say if you were asked, “Is it important for us as citizens and for our children and grandchildren to learn about American history?”
Before you answer, I invite you to reflect on this quote from Ronald Reagan. It was made during a midnight ceremony at his inauguration as governor, on January 5th, 1967.
“Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. And those in world history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.”
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