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It was an inspiring lecture. One of my finest. And then, I brought up D-Day.

Spend enough time in the classroom and you learn to read students’ faces. They say so much.

“I’m bored.” “I’m thinking about something else.” “I just broke up with my girlfriend.” I’m homesick.” “I’m hungry.” And, of course, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The latter – along with the unmistakable sound of crickets – was the reaction to my mention of the day Allied forces invaded Europe in 1944.

This particular encounter with students took place several years ago at another university but I haven’t forgotten it. It went something like this.

“So, on D-Day… .”

Nothing.

“Does everyone know what D-Day is?”

Still nothing. Not one hand in the air.

“The invasion of Europe by the Allies?”

Blank stares. “Anyone? Anyone?”

“How about World War II?”

“Oh, yeah!” one student exclaimed, as if we’d made some great breakthrough.

Those few moments in that classroom were indicative of a much broader and very disturbing issue – the appalling knowledge gap among young people about American history and America in general.

A study released earlier this month by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation showed that in a sample of 1,000 American adults, only 36 percent would pass a U.S. citizenship test. Those 65 and older who were surveyed scored the highest. But only 19 percent of those 45 and younger passed the test. Oh yeah, and 60 percent of those surveyed did not know which countries the U.S. fought against in World War II.

If you’re not terrified yet, consider that the questions on the test aren’t exactly what you would find on the Mensa admissions exam.

Here are a few actual questions on the citizenship test: What does the Constitution do? What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment? Name one branch or part of the government? Who makes federal laws?

You get the idea. Not a lot of heavy lifting.

And yet, at least if this study is any barometer, most Americans would fail a rudimentary civics test.

This would seem to be a searing indictment of our public schools. How a student can graduate high school, not to mention college, knowing virtually nothing about a world war that claimed the lives of 418,500 Americans and 50 million others is stupefying.

But here we are.

Kentucky is the most recent state to require all high school seniors to pass a U.S. citizenship test to graduate. Students have to score a 60 on a 100-question test to pass. Kentucky is one of nine states that require students to pass a civics test to graduate high school.

Bravo.

It’s hard to imagine that anyone would object to such a basic requirement but alas, the naysayers are out there. Chief among the pooh poohers, of all things, is the National Council for the Social Studies whose tagline, ironically enough, reads “Preparing Students for College, Career, and Civic Life.”

‘While the Naturalization Test as presently constructed does assess a surface level of civic knowledge that may be quickly forgotten, it ignores the skills and dispositions component so necessary for true civic literacy and learning,” according to an NCSS position statement posted in March, 2018. “Indeed, rote knowledge of civics content does not equal understanding of what it means to be a citizen.”

I’m not naive enough to believe that passing a simple civics test to graduate high school is the remedy for the multi-leveled failure to teach our young people the basics of what it means to be an American. But it’s something.

I would argue that our elementary and secondary school students would be much better served learning about why America had to fight World War II instead of being taught hogwash such as “School Climate Reform” or “Action Civics.”

Every state should pass a law requiring high school students to pass a civics test to graduate. The question, “Who knows about D-Day?” should never be met by unraised hands in any high school or college classroom.But it is. And that’s more than a failure. It’s a tragedy.

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Copyright 2018 Rich Manieri, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.

Rich Manieri is a Philadelphia-born journalist and author. He is currently a professor of journalism at Asbury University in Kentucky. His book, “We Burn on Friday: A Memoir of My Father and Me” is available at amazon.com. You can reach him at [email protected].

What now?

Forget civil discourse. Never mind empathy. So long to compassion.

If the confirmation process of now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh revealed anything – and it revealed many things – it is that anger is no longer merely an emotion, it’s a strategy. Yell, push, bully, protest. Whatever it takes, as long as the desire outcome is achieved.

Protestors are now following orders and targeting Republican lawmakers. Far-left activists have cornered GOP senators on elevators and harassed them in restaurants and airports. Senators Susan Collins and Jeff Flake have received death threats.

“Get up in their faces,” Democratic Sen. Cory Booker said in June.

Indeed.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who had six of his ribs broken last year by an unhinged neighbor, and was hounded by demonstrators at an airport over the weekend, told Kentucky radio host Leland Conway that he now fears the worst.

“I fear that there’s going to be an assassination,” Paul said. “I really worry that somebody is going to be killed, and that those who are ratcheting up the conversation… they have to realize they bear some responsibility if this elevates to violence.”

You’d be inclined to dismiss Paul’s concerns as hyperbole if he hadn’t been at that ballfield where a gunman tried to slaughter several GOP lawmakers.

It would be understandable at this point to ask how we got here. But I’m more interested in where we’re going. Our kids are watching us. What are we teaching them?

I was walking down the street behind two women the other day. Suddenly, they both stopped as if they had come upon the edge of the Grand Canyon.

They stopped so quickly that I had to do a little pirouette around them, or at least what passes for a pirouette at this point in my life.

I looked back and thought, surely, one of them must be stricken and is fishing through her purse for an EpiPen.

I was wrong. It was selfie time.

I’m not sure what inspired the sense of urgency. We were walking in front of a Whole Foods. It wasn’t going anywhere.

Personal, anti-selfie indifference aside, the serial selfie trend is becoming more than merely annoying.

The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) recently conducted a survey that revealed 55 percent of facial plastic surgeons saw patients who want to look better in selfies in 2017, a 13 percent increase from the previous year, with many of these patients under the age of 30. The biggest issue for selfie aficionados was their double chin.

Researchers at Ohio State University study found that men who posted more photos of themselves online scored higher in measures of narcissism and psychopathy.

Apparently, a significant number of young people are actually willing to pay a plastic surgeon to cut on them just so they can look better in their Facebook or Instagram posts.

What does this have to do with our current political climate?

We’re raising a generation of young people whose self-worth, and the worth of others, is based solely on the external. Perhaps that’s why we hear so much about the need for diversity based on physical characteristics but we hear almost nothing about embracing diversity of thought.

But this shouldn’t surprise us.

We’ve allowed our children to live in an unreal world, where social media posts have taken the place of personal interaction. Our teenagers are isolated, disconnected from family, friends and faith. We tweet vitriol without accountability. We take grievances to Twitter and Facebook, not to find answers but to wound and ruin. We drown in debt so we can accumulate enough stuff to make us happy. The problem is it never does nor will it ever. The message we send is that there is joy in the external, but only if it meets our own relative standard for success.

There’s no need to wonder how we got here and why our young people continue their destructive pursuit of the ideal self.

It would be comforting to think our children will restore civil discourse. But the Kavanaugh circus has revealed our worst, and it would be a lot more comforting if our children weren’t learning from us.

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Copyright 2018 Rich Manieri, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.

Rich Manieri is a Philadelphia-born journalist and author. He is currently a professor of journalism at Asbury University in Kentucky. His book, “We Burn on Friday: A Memoir of My Father and Me” is available at amazon.com. You can reach him at [email protected].

Regardless of your political persuasion, it’s always refreshing to hear honesty from an elected representative, no matter the agenda or party.

That’s why I have to give Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat, an “Atta boy!” for his tweet on Friday about embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

“Yes, of course there should be an FBI investigation,” Murphy tweeted. “But whatever they find doesn’t change the fact that Kavanaugh, especially after his performance yesterday, is the most dangerous Supreme Court pick of our lifetime.”

This, of course, is the real issue for Democrats. It doesn’t matter if the FBI’s rooting around in Kavanaugh’s proverbial attic turns up nothing but dust bunnies – as I suspect it will – or whether it reveals that Kavanaugh is nothing more than a half-drunk cad in a black robe. The Democrats don’t like him, will never support him and will do anything possible to stop him from being confirmed.

They’ve said so themselves.

Back in July, Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said he would oppose Kavanaugh “with everything” he had.

“Judge Kavanaugh got the nomination because he passed this litmus test, not because he’ll be an impartial judge on behalf of all Americans,” Schumer said. “If he were to be confirmed, women’s reproductive rights would be in the hands of five men on the Supreme Court.”

And there we are. This is really about abortion. Whether the Democrats really believe Kavanaugh would be a threat to Roe v. Wade or whether they are using it as a rallying cry for their base is a topic for another time, but the goal is the same either way. They are going to use whatever they have to stop him.

What they have now is what seems to be credible testimony from Christine Blasey Ford, who said Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were in high school. Kavanaugh has denied it, going as far during last week’s hearing to claim he’s being railroaded by liberals bent on destroying him. There have also been other uncorroborated allegations made against Kavanaugh, who has denied all of them.

I don’t know what the truth is, but I do know that Democrats now have a bit of a problem.

They were caught off guard last week when Republican Sen. Jeff Flake cut a deal. In what might turn out to be a masterstroke by Republicans, Flake offered the Democrats the FBI investigation of Kavanaugh for which they had been clamoring. President Donald Trump then matter-of-factly ordered the investigation. Why?

Because he knows that this ultimately might be the best thing that happened to him, if not to Kavanaugh. And remember, we know that President Trump’s primary concern is, and always will be, President Trump.

And now the Democrats have their investigation. But it’s not enough.

“A fundamental question the FBI can help answer is whether Judge Kavanaugh has been truthful with the committee,” Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote last weekend. “This goes to the very heart of whether he should be confirmed to the court.”

No, it really doesn’t, which is why the Democrats never brought it up until after everyone agreed that the FBI would investigate Ford’s claims against Kavanaugh. Nor did the Democrats -until Monday -raise the issue of expanding the FBI probe into allegations made by Julie Swetnick and Deborah Ramirez, each of whom have made unsubstantiated claims against Kavanaugh.

It’s almost as if the Democrats never expected to get what they wanted.Now that they have it, they want more.

“These three women have come forward at great personal risk, identified themselves by name, submitted written allegations to the Committee, and requested an FBI investigation,” Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote to FBI Director Chris Wray on Monday.

Clearly, the Democrats are worried that the investigation into Ford’s claims will turn up nothing. If that happens, the Republicans can move forward, likely with the swing votes of Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska in hand.

However, if the investigation does turn up something, the Republicans will jettison Kavanaugh faster than the Enterprise jettisoned the late Mr. Spock in Wrath of Kahn. The GOP will then quickly move to its No. 2 choice. Remember, Republicans care more about the seat on the court than Kavanaugh himself. That sounds harsh but that’s politics.

The Democrats need to be careful about overreaching. They’ve been making noises about impeachment. But if they continue to resist after Kavanaugh is confirmed, what they see as a righteous fight could wind up looking like a temper tantrum if they overplay their hand.

And the last thing we need is politicians stomping their feet, even though we’ve grown accustomed to the noise.

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Copyright 2018 Rich Manieri, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.

Rich Manieri is a Philadelphia-born journalist and author. He is currently a professor of journalism at Asbury University in Kentucky. His book, “We Burn on Friday: A Memoir of My Father and Me” is available at amazon.com. You can reach him at [email protected].

We’re officially off the rails.

There’s an easy, not-so-scientific way determine exactly when this happens. It happens at the very moment when Michael Avenatti’s name enters the discussion.

You remember Avenatti. He’s the lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels, who said she was paid $130,000 – a month before the 2016 presidential election – to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she had with Donald Trump in in 2006.Avenatti also mentioned he might run for president in 2020. Don’t snicker. The Atlantic called Avenatti the “Democrats’ Trump” in August. I’m not sure whether that was a compliment or an insult. Maybe it was both.

Nevertheless, Avenatti has now insinuated himself in the Jell-O wrestling match that passes for our confirmation process of a potential Supreme Court justice.

Avenatti claims that nominee Brett Kavanaugh and others targeted women with “alcohol/drugs” to allow men to sexually assault them at high school parties.

On Wednesday, Avenatti produced a client, Julie Swetnick, who claims that in the 1980s, she witnessed Judge Kavanaugh and a classmate, Mark Judge, trying to get teenage girls “inebriated and disoriented” so they could then be sexually assaulted.

Avenatti released an explosive statement in which Swetnick says, “I have a firm recollection of seeing boys lined up outside rooms at many of these parties waiting for their ‘turn’ with a girl inside the room,” she said. “These boys included Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh.”

Any reasonable person must consider the timing here. I suppose this information wasn’t important enough to be made public before Kavanaugh became a judge in the first place.

Avenatti’s allegations came after Debbie Ramirez, a college classmate of Kavanaugh’s, told the New Yorker, that Supreme Court pick exposed himself to her during a Yale University party when he was a freshman. Kavanaugh has said it never happened. The New York Times decided not to run the story due to lack of corroboration.

Kavanaugh’s first accuser, Christine Blasey Ford said Kavanaugh, while in high school, pinned her down, tried to remove her swimsuit and held his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream. In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Kavanaugh said he “never sexually assaulted anyone.”

Ford’s story has yet to be corroborated by anyone who was actually present.

For the sake of the country, we need to get this right. And certain media outlets, which are supposed to be in the business of “getting it right,” aren’t doing their profession or the rest of us any favors.

CNN ran a story Monday detailing Mark Judge’s recollections of drunken keg parties at Georgetown Prep. As CNN reported, in a passage of his book, “Wasted: Tales of a Gen X Drunk,” the only time Judge comes close to mentioning Kavanaugh, if you can call it that, is when he recalls a conversation with a young woman about “Bart O’Kavanaugh.”

“Do you know Bart O’Kavanaugh?”

“Yeah. He’s around here somewhere.”

“I heard he puked in someone’s car the other night.”

“Yeah. He passed out on his way back from a party.”

In about the 18th paragraph, CNN happens to mention, “CNN has no confirmation that the Bart O’Kavanaugh mentioned in the passage above refers to Brett Kavanaugh.”

It’s certainly not a stretch to believe they were talking about Kavanaugh. If so, we know that he might have had too much to drink at a high school party 35 years ago. If that’s a disqualifying factor for employment, we’re all in trouble.

And on Wednesday, The New York Times published Kavanaugh’s calendar from the summer of 1982 under the headline, “Kavanaugh’s Calendar Portrays Party-Filled Summer for Supreme Court Nominee.”

We’re now in feeding-frenzy mode which, of course, is much to the delight of Democrats who want to long-play this thing until the Republicans either decide Kavanaugh isn’t worth the fight or simply give up out of boredom.

We live in a world of extremes, where tribalism rules the day. Kavanaugh is either a monster who must be cast out or he’s being railroaded for political purposes. Somewhere, in between, is the truth.

I don’t know what Brett Kavanaugh did or didn’t do when he was in high school. I do believe his accusers need to be heard on the matter and so does he, before any conclusions are drawn.

The problem, it seems, is that conclusions have already been drawn. And there’s nothing right about that.

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Copyright 2018 Rich Manieri, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.

Rich Manieri is a Philadelphia-born journalist and author. He is currently a professor of journalism at Asbury University in Kentucky. His book, “We Burn on Friday: A Memoir of My Father and Me” is available at amazon.com. You can reach him at [email protected].

By Rich Manieri

It would nice if once, just once, our Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress could take a break from giving each other noogies and spend their energy trying to find the truth.

You remember the truth. At the moment it’s gasping for air beneath a heap of political agendas.

Unfortunately for the American people, the Brett Kavanaugh fiasco only highlights the inability of our elected representatives to agree on much of anything, up to and including ordering lunch.

At issue is what to do about the accusations that Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s most recent Supreme Court nominee, sexually assaulted a woman when he was in high school. Kavanaugh’s accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, alleges that Kavanaugh pinned her down, tried to remove her swimming suit and put his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream. Kavanaugh says it never happened.

Republicans are accusing Democrats of “playing politics” with the accusations partly because the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., sat on the information for two months until an opportune time for its release, which turned to be near the end of Kavanaugh’s confirmation process.

Well played, senator, as if the information wasn’t important when Feinstein received it. And now, at least to Democrats, it’s the most important piece of information in the world.

Of course, the Democrats are playing politics. And if you’re a Republican and you don’t believe your party leaders would do the same thing if the situation were reversed, you’d better sit this one out.

I don’t know what Kavanaugh did or was capable of doing 35 years ago when he was 17. I do know this sort of alleged, abhorrent behavior seems to be inconsistent with what we’ve learned about his history and character.

I also know that his accuser should be taken seriously and not condemned for coming forward. And now Republicans, including the president, want Ford to testify before the Senate committee to gauge whether the allegations against Kavanaugh are credible. But it’s still unclear if Ford will take Republicans up on their offer to tell her story.

“If we don’t hear from both sides on Monday, let’s vote,” Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., tweeted Tuesday.

Democrats and Ford want the FBI to investigate before she testifies.

“We should honor Dr., Blasey, Ford’s wishes and delay this hearing,” Feinstein said in a statement. “A proper investigation must be completed, witnesses interviewed, evidence reviewed and all sides spoken to. Only then should the chairman set a hearing date.”

Tuesday night, Ford’s lawyers sent a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the Judiciary Committee chairman, arguing that Ford cannot testify until “full investigation by law enforcement officials [to] ensure that the crucial facts and witnesses in this matter are assessed in a non-partisan manner.”

That sounds like stalling and, of course, it is.

There’s no indication that the FBI intends to capitulate and send its agents to unravel a 35-year-old sexual assault allegation. That’s not what the FBI does, nor should it. Frankly, such a demand is ridiculous and the Democrats know it.

If an FBI Easter egg hunt is now off the table, as it should be, let’s do what would be a welcome change from business as usual and act in the best interest of the American people: Give Ford a deadline to come in and testify. She can do so, as Grassley suggested, privately, so the hearing is actually a legitimate attempt at fact finding instead of reality TV.

I hope Ford testifies, I really do, so the committee can see for itself if she’s credible.

If Ford declines to come in, there needs to be a vote. Not because Republicans want it but because there’s really nothing left to do. I’m not sure what other ideas the Democrats have to delay this thing short of all of them coming down with the flu at the same time.

This nonsense would almost be funny if it weren’t so important and if human beings weren’t involved.

This is why people – myself included – are so fed up with those we’ve elected to represent us and, if polls are any indication, this is a bipartisan gripe.

All 10 Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have promised to vote no on Kavanaugh. But the reality is that Democrats wouldn’t have voted to confirm Kavanaugh had he descended from Heaven on a cloud.

Now what?

We can’t help but watch. We can’t take our eyes off the spectacle, for the same reason drivers slow down to gape at a car crash.

The only victim here is the truth.

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Copyright 2018 Rich Manieri, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.

Rich Manieri is a Philadelphia-born journalist and author. He is currently a professor of journalism at Asbury University in Kentucky. His book, “We Burn on Friday: A Memoir of My Father and Me” is available at amazon.com. You can reach him at [email protected].