A Florida Congresswoman is determined to combat the increasing support for left-wing ideas among Gen-Z, seeking the help of a hard-line neoconservative group to educate young people on the “evils of communism.”
In the ongoing battle over school curricula, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a bill Friday that would endorse the lesson plans of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, a group closely associated with hawkish factions in foreign policy circles.
The Crucial Communism Teaching Act, also known as H.R. 5349, would task the VOC Foundation with creating an educational curriculum to be offered to school districts for teaching students about the historical and contemporary atrocities committed by communist regimes.
Rep. MarÃa Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., was inspired to introduce the bill after learning from a 2020 survey conducted by the VOC Foundation that 28 percent of Gen-Zers and 22 percent of millennials viewed communism favorably.
“Communism is one of the most destructive political ideologies the world has ever seen,” Salazar stated in a press release. “The Crucial Communism Teaching Act is crucial because our youth must remember the crimes of the communists, including those inflicted upon my constituents and their families in Florida’s 27th district.”
While the bill has received limited attention, some Democrats have expressed concerns that its singular focus on communism may overlook other forms of repression. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., pointed out the omission of America’s history of using communism as a divisive tool.
Despite these concerns, the bill is expected to pass with bipartisan support, according to Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., who emphasized the importance of educating young people about communism.
The most prominent education battles in recent years have involved banning books and contentious fights for control of local school boards. Introducing right-wing educational resources, like those developed by organizations such as PragerU, is another tactic gaining traction in states like Florida and Oklahoma.
The VOC Foundation has been instrumental in promoting legislation in states like Arizona and Florida that mandates education on the dangers of communism. The foundation is poised to offer its curriculum to schools seeking to comply with these new requirements.
In Florida, educational standards now mandate teaching about communism starting as early as kindergarten, thanks to legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April.
Although representatives of the VOC Foundation did not respond to requests for comment, they have shown strong support for Salazar’s bill.
The VOC Foundation is already working on an expansive anti-communist civics curriculum, focusing on the origins of communism and atrocities committed by communist regimes. While the full curriculum is still in development, the available material emphasizes the atrocities of Communist forces during World War II.
The VOC Foundation delves into graphic details of communist abuses, but critics note that its focus on communist atrocities often overlooks other historical atrocities, such as the Holocaust, committed by non-communist forces. This narrow focus has drawn criticism from those within the anti-communist movement.
In Canada, a Memorial to Victims of Communism, partially funded by taxpayer dollars, has faced backlash for its glorification of fascist collaborators in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
The memorial’s list of victims once included tributes to Ante Pavelić, the Nazi puppet who oversaw the Holocaust in Croatia, and Roman Shukhevych, a Ukrainian nationalist responsible for the murder of tens of thousands of Jews and other minorities during the war.
The project, scheduled to be unveiled without names on December 12 after numerous delays, has its origins in post-war efforts to establish a right-wing response to the Communist International, as per independent researcher Dan Boeckner. Organizations like the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations, under the pretext of promoting freedom, served as a platform for fascist emigres to exploit Cold War tensions and rewrite history to equate communist atrocities with the Holocaust.
The VOC Foundation in D.C., although separate from Tribute to Liberty in Canada, emerged from the same global movement. While Canadian anti-communist efforts have been associated with groups linked to war criminals and fascists, the U.S. manifestation of the movement has been led by American hard-line “Cold Warriors” focused on advancing U.S. interests overseas.
Founded in 1993 by congressional charter, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is an offshoot of the National Captive Nations Committee, a Cold War advocacy group spearheaded by conservative intellectuals advocating a confrontational stance towards the Soviet Union. The foundation, receiving significant government contributions, grants, and funding from conservative groups, is dedicated to highlighting government repression in countries like Cuba and China.
The VOC Foundation annually presents the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom to individuals and organizations championing democracy and human rights. Past recipients include dissidents, post-Soviet leaders, as well as figures like Donald Rumsfeld, Viktor Orbán, and Lockheed Martin.
Despite the nonbinding nature of H.R. 5349, its passage would be a win for Salazar, who has been advocating for the legislation. While a companion bill exists in the Senate, it is unlikely to move forward in the current session. The decision by the House GOP majority to push the bill to a floor vote has raised questions among Democrats about priorities.
“It’s interesting that this is the choice of what we have to vote on this week,” said Houlahan. “We have so much work to do in what remains of this Congress. We haven’t even funded the government — let’s start with that.”
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