While Trumpers are preparing their summer travel schedules around Trump rallies, the “Big Lie” about the presidential election continues percolating within the MAGA-ite world, Arizona’s right-wing-initiated faux audit continues, voter suppression laws are being passed in several states, and Democrats in the Senate are being played by former Senate leader Mitch McConnell, America’s culture warriors are placing Critical Race Theory at the top of its agenda, and in its crosshairs.
Confronted by the Black Lives Matter protests after the murder of George Floyd, as well as The New York Times’ Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project and curriculum, which roots American history in its racist past, Americans are looking for simple answers. Critical Race Theory has become low hanging fruit for conservative ire.
The State’s Lucas Daprile recently reported, “Conservative critics of the policy, led by former President Donald Trump, say Critical Race Theory paints an overly negative picture of America and makes white children feel guilty for actions they didn’t personally commit. Critics argue that Critical Race Theory places too much emphasis on a person’s race and not enough on a person’s character or individual actions.”
Dapple noted that “Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, … is sponsoring a bill, H. 4343, that would place limits on how schools could teach gender and race. The bill would prevent schools from teaching that people of a certain race or gender are unconsciously oppressive because of their gender, sex or race; that an individual’s character is determined by race or sex; that hard work and meritocracy are the products of racism or sexism; that living people of a certain race are responsible for the actions of their ancestors and more.”
Culture Warriors in Attack Mode
Another example of the heat being generated by critics of Critical Race Theory comes from Newsmax, the ultra-conservative multi-media enterprise.
“Critical Race Theory is Marxist. Its real target is Christianity and the Bible. The far left wants it in our schools. The war on Christians is in full gear, says a most famous Jewish thinker.” reads the lead of an ultra-hysterical email sent out by Newsmax.
“The Biden administration and the ‘Woke’ left are embracing a radical new approach to our culture and life. It's called ‘Critical Race Theory.’"
The e-mail goes on: “In a nutshell it claims that people who are "white" and from "European" backgrounds have succeeded because of their color, and they have OPPRESSED people of color. Thus, people of color have been wronged and if they FIGHT BACK in any way then they are MORALLY right. Make no mistake about it, the left's anti-Christian and anti-Semitic agenda is being ramped up dramatically . . . and it's frightening.”
The e-mail is aimed at provoking evangelical Christians and MAGA-ite readers of Newsmax to buy David Horowitz’s book, Dark Agenda: The War to Destroy Christian America. And just to show that the book is not just another Christian complaining about being victimized, the email emphasizes the fact that Horowitz is “a famous Jewish author and thinker.”
And if the base isn’t quite convinced, Newsman trots out endorsements by such right-wing luminaries as Tucker Carlson who “said he couldn't put the book down”; Mike Huckabee who “has urged every Christian to get and read this book”; and Glenn Beck who says the book “reveals a ‘dangerous’ situation we all face.”
Readers can “Claim [a] FREE copy of the book with a one-year (12 issues) subscription at a discounted rate for only $12.95 to Newsmax Magazine (both print and digital editions).”
What is Critical Race Theory
Critical Race Theory has been around since the 1970s. According to Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/...), “Roy L. Brooks defined critical race theory in 1994 as ‘a collection of critical stances against the existing legal order from a race-based point of view’. Richard Delgado, a co-founder of the theory, defined it in 2017 as ‘a collection of activists and scholars interested in studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power.’"
In a March 2012 piece for Slate, Will Oremus wrote: “The theory [is] radical... in the sense that it questions fundamental assumptions.... And unlike some strands of academic and legal thought, critical race theory has an open and activist agenda, with an emphasis on storytelling and personal experience. It's about righting wrongs, not just questing after knowledge.... Many of their ideas are not radical today in the sense of being outside the mainstream: Critical race theory is widely taught and studied.”
Bashing Critical Race Theory is the latest entry in America’s culture wars. According to Daprile: The push to block Critical Race Theory from classrooms is not unique to South Carolina. Idaho recently enacted a law similar to the one proposed in S.C., according to the Idaho State Journal. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who may be gearing up for a presidential bid, jumped on the trend of bashing Critical Race Theory, according to The Miami Herald. As of mid-May, lawmakers in “nearly a dozen” states have introduced bills to regulate how slavery and racism are taught in K-12 schools, according to CBS News.”
Andrew Hartman, a history professor at Illinois State University, called the battle over critical race theory as typical of the culture wars, where "the issue itself is not always the thing driving the controversy." "I'm not really sure that the conservatives right now know what it is or know its history," said Hartman, author of A War for the Soul of America: A History of the Culture Wars.
When did not knowing American history ever stop America’s culture warriors?
Hartman noted that "Conservatives, since the 1960s, have increasingly defined American society as a colorblind society, in the sense that maybe there were some problems in the past but American society corrected itself and now we have these laws and institutions that are meritocratic and anybody, regardless of race, can achieve the American dream."
Rest assured that the fight over Critical Race Theory will be an issue at play in the 2022 mid-term elections.