Agenda 47

Written Monday, August 12, 2024

Agenda 47 (styled by the Trump campaign as Agenda47) is the policy of the Donald Trump. It details policies that would be implemented upon his election as the 47th president of the United States. Agenda 47 is a collection of formal policy plans, many of which would rely on executive orders and significantly expanded executive power. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda_47]

In essence, Agenda 47 is Trump’s “response” to Project 2025, which Trump disavows. Within this policy “statement” are 20 promises that Trump says he will accomplish:

1. Seal the border, and stop the migrant invasion
2. Carry out the largest deportation operation in American history
3. End inflation, and make American affordable again
4. Make America the dominant energy producer in the world, by far!
5. Stop outsourcing, and turn the United States into a manufacturing superpower
6. Large tax cuts for workers, and no tax on tips!
7. Defend our constitution, our bill or rights, and our fundamental freedoms, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms
8. Prevent World War III, restore peace in Europe and in the Middle East, and build a great iron dome missile defense shield over our entire country — all made in America
9. End the weaponization of government against the American people
10. Stop the migrant crime epidemic, demolish the foreign drug cartels, crush gang violence, and lock up violent offenders
11. Rebuild our cities, including Washington, DC, marking them safe, clean, and beautiful again
12. Strengthen and modernize our military, making it, without questions, the strongest and most powerful in the world
13. Keep the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency
14. Fight for and protect social security and medicare with no cuts, including no changes to the retirement age
15. Cancel the electric vehicle mandate and cut costly and burdensome regulations
16. Cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, radical gender ideology, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children
17. Keep men out of women’s sports
18. Deport pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again
19. Secure our elections, including same day voting, voter identification, paper ballots, and proof of citizenship
20. Unite our country by bringing it to new and record levels of success

I don’t know about you but this seems a little too broad and, in some cases, “radical”. In #7 it talks about freedom of religion. However, in the actual document, it states “Republicans will champion the First Amendment Right to Pray and Read the Bible in school, and stand up to those who violate the Religious Freedoms or American students.” [https://rncplatform.donaldjtrump.com This is a PDF document. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read it.] In essence, the document promotes prayer in schools but does not say whose prayer. I have absolutely no problem with students praying or reading the Bible in school – independently! However, I do have a problem when it is part of the school curriculum. There are many religions in this country – we were built on the foundation of religious freedom. We cannot and should not assume all are Christians!

Agenda 47 also promotes ten ideas for “great schools leading to great jobs”, which range from curriculum requirements to preferential funding for schools with internship programs. To start, Trump wants to implement funding preferences and favorable treatment for states and school districts that abolish teacher tenure for grades K-12, adopt Merit Pay to reward good teachers, and give parents the right to vote for the principals who direct their children’s education.

I sit on the fence on some of this but not on “elected” principals. The leadership in our schools should not be down to politics or popularity! It should be based on qualifications alone.

In recent years, teachers have been under fire with book bans and forbidden curriculum, especially in Florida! Teacher shortages are felt everywhere, making class sizes larger and more difficult to manage. Eliminating tenure would be one more blow and would exacerbate the problem.

Trump wants to reinstate his 1776 Commission, which he originally created and was disbanded under Joe Biden to ensure our school children learn the “truth” about the country’s history and the timeless principles of liberty and equality. He will create a credentialing body to certify teachers who embrace patriotic values and support the “American Way of Life”.

The 1776 Commission is a story for another day, but in essence, was created in November 2020, as part of the backlash to the 1619 Project, which examines the history of slavery in the US. The report produced by the commission excused America’s history of slavery and undercut the legacy of the civil rights movement.

The education policies of Trump in the Agenda 47 are nothing less than politicizing the education of our future generations. I will write more about the 1776 Commission Report and provide a few more details about what it says about education.

On the surface, it sounds logical, sane, and okay. But, it’s not. I have worried about education in this country for several years. But the past few years the fear and worry is multiplied exponentially. We’re talking about our future leaders and the future of this country. Education should be one of the most important things we deal with.

Again, I acknowledge I have been disjointed in my rambling. Again, I don’t know why. The doctor’s appointment Friday went well – better than expected! But, still my head is reeling with so much of the fear about this election.

Meanwhile, my sister and I are hosting a meet & greet for two of our local candidates – one for County Commission and one for School Board. All elections count and sometimes the local elections count more!

IMHO . . .