Brenda Hafera, Assistant Director and Senior Policy Analyst at the Heritage Foundation's Simons Center for American Studies, has spent her career studying, preserving, and advocating for America’s founding principles. In a recent interview, she shared her insights into patriotism, historical education, and the ongoing cultural battles over America's national identity.
Hafera’s journey into political philosophy and history was shaped by her upbringing and education. She attributes her deep-seated appreciation for America to her parents, who instilled in her a strong sense of gratitude. “I’m one of five kids,” Hafera says, emphasizing that growing up in a large family helped her recognize that she was not the center of the universe.
Her academic path at Villanova University further cemented her passion for American history. Under the guidance of distinguished mentors, she was introduced to the Federalist Papers and the Lincoln-Douglas debates, which she describes as “profound.”
Her studies led her to a realization that, despite its setbacks, America is an exceptional nation. Having worked abroad in Hong Kong and Greece, Hafera witnessed firsthand the struggles for freedom in other parts of the world. “If you study international history, you really do get a sense that America is unique,” she says. “There is a promise to be able to live a life of human dignity in America that has not been there for most of human history and is still not there in many countries.”
Hafera believes there is a growing crisis in American patriotism that stems from intentional distortion of historical narratives. “We haven’t done a good job of telling our story anymore,” she says. According to her, public schools, museums, and historical sites have, in many cases, adopted revised historical perspectives that present America’s founding and history through a purely critical lens.
From her perspective, the shift in historical narratives has been driven, in part, by initiatives such as the 1619 Project and curriculums from organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center. These efforts, Hafera argues, seek to redefine America’s founding by prioritizing themes of oppression over foundational principles of liberty and self-governance. “There’s been a lot of these efforts that have really changed our origin story,” she says, pointing out that museums and historic sites have increasingly adopted similar perspectives.
The shift in America’s historical narrative is not confined to academia. Hafera discusses how institutions such as the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) have promoted what she calls an “anti-racist museum movement,” fundamentally altering how history is presented to the public.
“In 2022, the AAM came out with a report co-chaired by the head of the Smithsonian, stating that DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) is integral to museum excellence,” she says. In her view, these institutions have shifted from historical preservation to advocacy.
She cites as an example the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which has directed substantial financial resources—$500 million, in Mellon’s case—toward revising how history is commemorated. Hafera describes this as an intentional effort to shift the focus of historical institutions away from a balanced portrayal of America’s past. “These institutions don’t necessarily care about visitors or the sites themselves; it’s about controlling the public narrative.”
These approaches, she argues, disregard the broader principles that define the American experiment in self-governance.
Hafera believes the path forward involves a renewed emphasis on primary sources and intellectual honesty in historical discourse. “People need to get back to reading the Federalist Papers, the Declaration of Independence, and Lincoln’s speeches,” she says. “When you rely on primary sources, the distortions become obvious.”
She also emphasizes the importance of choosing wisely which historical sites and institutions to support. “Mount Vernon is doing a great job telling the American story while maintaining historical integrity,” she notes. By contrast, institutions that have embraced ideological reinterpretations of history should be held accountable by the public.
Ultimately, Hafera sees America’s founding principles as a source of strength and resilience. “The American experiment is something unique in human history,” she says. “We have to be honest about our failures, but we also have to recognize the incredible achievements that make this nation worth celebrating.”
