Trump's "Patriotic Education" Order: A Mandatory Rewrite of American History

Trump's "Patriotic Education" Order: A Mandatory Rewrite of American History

Welp. It’s happening.

Donald Trump just issued an executive order called "Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schools," which is basically a fancy way of saying,

"If history makes me look bad, change it."

Now, I know we’ve seen some absolutely wild executive orders in the past week—some already overturned as unconstitutional—but this one is next-level dangerous.

Let’s break it down:

This order forces schools to teach “patriotic education”—which sounds nice until you actually read what that means.

So, What is "Patriotic Education" According to Trump?

1️⃣ An “honest” and “ennobling” version of America’s history.

→ Translation: No talking about slavery, genocide, or anything that makes America look bad.

2️⃣ Focusing on how the U.S. has “admirably” progressed toward its ideals.

→ Translation: If you mention racism, sexism, or oppression, you’re a radical leftist who hates America.

3️⃣ Teaching that America’s aspirations are always justified and beneficial.

→ Translation: Even when America was committing war crimes, colonizing nations, or enslaving people—it was for a good reason.

4️⃣ Celebrating America’s greatness is a “proper” way to teach history.

→ Translation: Any teacher who doesn't turn history class into a pep rally for the Founding Fathers is now unpatriotic.

This Isn’t History—It’s Propaganda

Historians have a word for this: heritage, not history.

History is about facts—the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Heritage is about vibes—telling a feel-good story that makes people proud, even if it’s not true.

Frederick Douglass literally warned about this in his 1847 speech "The Rights of Citizens to Criticize American Institutions."

He said that true patriotism isn’t blindly celebrating the past.

It’s confronting the truth—even when it’s uncomfortable.

Trump’s order does the opposite. It censors history so that America never looks bad—because, in his mind, teaching the truth is "radical indoctrination."

This Isn’t Just About Schools—It’s About 2026

Here’s the real reason this is happening now:

America turns 250 in 2026, and Trump wants to make sure the history books are rewritten before the celebration.

Instead of a real reckoning with our history, he wants a sanitized version that turns the entire country into one big Fourth of July barbecue.

And that should terrify everyone.

But Wait, There's More!

Because Trump isn't stopping at schools.

He froze federal funding for diversity and equity research.

He announced a new migrant detention center at Guantanamo Bay.

He gutted the federal workforce by purging racial and gender minorities from federal agencies.

This isn’t just about rewriting history.

It’s about reshaping the present—to make sure America’s future looks like his version of the past.

And that? That should scare the hell out of all of us.