Have you ever visited the National Archives and seen the Declaration of Independence? It’s featured alongside the U.S. Constitution and other historical documents in the dimly lit rotunda of the National Archives building. Those timeless words on the yellowing parchment are fading. So is our collective understanding of what America is about. Popular ideologies Critical Race Theory and the 1619 Project cast America in the worst possible light. Critical Race Theory (CRT) equates whiteness with oppression and tries to divide us based on the color of our skin. Cancel culture enforces these ideologies and marginalizes those with conservative views. These destructive ideologies reject what Americans have collectively understood since we declared our independence from Great Britain 245 years ago. A core American ideal is that regardless of race or ethnicity, we all possess inherent dignity and are of equal value.