Rep. Lloyd Smucker
The dangers of communism and totalitarianism would be taught to American high schoolers under legislation introduced recently by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) and more than 60 other Republican congressional members.
“Thanks to our free enterprise system, I, like so many across our nation, have been blessed with the opportunity to live the American Dream. I came to Congress to vigorously defend every American’s opportunity to work towards their own American Dream,” Rep. Smucker said. “Self-described socialists in Congress are pushing legislation to kill that opportunity and radically alter our way of life.”
The Crucial Communism Teaching Act, H.R. 6123, sponsored on Dec. 2 by U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), would require the development and dissemination of a civic education curriculum and oral history resources regarding certain political ideologies, according to the text of the bill.
H.R. 6123 is modeled after the Never Again Education Act signed into law in May 2020 to create a program to educate American students about the Holocaust through the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
If enacted, H.R. 6123 would make educational materials available through the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation to help educate high school students about the dangers of communism and totalitarianism, and how they are contrary to the founding principles of freedom and democracy in the United States, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Smucker’s office.
“I’m very concerned that an alarming number of younger Americans hold favorable views of communism,” said Rep. Smucker, who cited information from an October 2020 report published by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
The report, entitled “U.S. Attitudes Toward Socialism, Communism, and Collectivism,” is an annual survey that explores perceptions of collectivist systems, such as communism and socialism, among Americans ages 16 or older. The 2020 report shows that Marxism still has the highest favorability among Gen Z (30 percent) and Millennials (27 percent) compared to other generations. Its favorability decreased 9 points for Millennials and increased 6 points for Gen Z over 2019 data, according to the report.
“The world knows communism is responsible for horrifying death and destruction throughout history. It is more critical than ever that we ensure our students are taught the history and the present dangers of this ideology,” Rep. Smucker said. “I appreciate Congresswoman Salazar for leading this critical legislation and am proud to join her in supporting it.”