Democracy needs a lifeguard or two with those red tubes to pull it from the throes of drowning. Lifeguards always carry those red tubes for a reason. Drowning victims in their panic and fear, often try to drown the people who try to rescue them. Paranoia and fear they feel causes people to cling on to what they have around them. This also happens all the time in social, political, or educational situations when individuals fear the loss of what they know or when they fear losing power or control. After a year of examining the state of democracy in America, our US Government class has decided that the American experiment in democracy is drowning. At present we bear witness to a country splashing around in the open water, attempting to drown those who have come to its rescue.
In Post Truth America the demagoguery and manufactured rage of the Republican Party have pulled democracy under the water. Some members of Congress prefer getting attention to getting things done. The American democracy is part liberal and part conservative. Its head, heart, and soul blend liberal and conservative, democrat and republican ways of being. It is the conservative part of the country, like the part of the brain that rejects logic and reason in the face of an uncertain future, has freaked out and wants to drown the lifeguard. The conservative lung of America has filled not with water, but with misinformation, lies, and fealty to an individual more interested in corruption and power than democracy and the Constitution. In 1984, Big Brother and the Party did whatever it took to remain in and consolidate power. These actions, based on lies and manipulation, can be summed up in the metaphor of 2 + 2 = 5. Part of this effort holds tight to a specific myth of America. The rage focused against The 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory (CRT) represent a misguided effort to preserve a narrow mythical understanding of this country’s history.
The various arms of conservative state media and bottom feeders on social media have created dangerous conditions. This rip tide pulls at our country. First, there’s the Big Lie. Election denial in largely Republican controlled state legislatures has resulted in subsequent efforts to suppress votes from the BIPOC community. Republicans in Congress more interested in reelection and preserving their privileged lifestyle in DC embrace the Big Lie. Fear of 45 has “forced” them to kiss the Donald’s ring. Power and preservation instincts have warped their sensibilities for what this country is really about. Power > Policy + People. Politicians these days, particularly Republicans, are more concerned with re-election and clinging to power than they are in solving problems. This zero sum politics has emerged from what Madison referred to an “impetuous vortex” (Federalist 48) and the rise of factions. On any day we can observe efforts around the country to make lies the law. We can also witness the revising of the events of January 6th as many conservatives try to sanitize the insurrection as well as their support for the violence and their support for unconstitutional election interference. If anyone within the republican caucus dares speak out they are punished. For all of their rage against Cancel Culture, Republicans were more than happy to cancel Liz Cheney for speaking truth to power. However, these are not the only areas in which conservatives work to sanitize and whitewash American history.
America has to honestly examine its racist legacy. However, as part of their culture war strategy to reclaim power, these same people have created a new hysteria around bothThe 1619 Project and CRT. This hysteria has once again worked to incite a mob that is largely ignorant about what their outage is about beyond several well worn talking points (the usual bogeymen are present - anti-American, socialists, marxists, political correctness, etc.). The wave of hysteria has washed ashore in several states that have banned both 1619 and CRT from being used in schools or in anti-racist trainings. I guess some folks really miss McCarthyism and the Red Scare. Oddly enough most of the people freaking out have not read the articles in The 1619 Project or the seminal articles of Critical Race Theory. Both projects provide a different lens by which we can examine the history and institutional systems that shaped and continue to shape the history and institutions of this country.
Quick aside #1 - back in the day I used a version of Red Light/Green Light every time someone in my class brought up reverse discrimination or affirmative action. Actually, with affirmative action I just pointed to data that stated that the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action were middle class White women between the ages of 25 and 40. For Red Light/Green Light I had everyone on one side of a basketball court or room to start. Then I moved a group 15 steps closer to the finish line. We played a few rounds like that and every time someone that got a head start won. Next, I moved some of the people from the group that did not get the benefit of a head start further back. We played a few rounds like that and still someone from the groups out in front won. I then moved everyone to the privileged starting line. Sure enough some new people won and the folks who had been winning complained that it wasn’t fair. So I moved everyone back to their original positions and ran a few rounds. The people who had been winning were winning again. While they were pleased, everyone else stewed with more anger after coming close to victory. In the final rounds I moved everyone back to the end line (or far wall) to play. Again those in the original group that got a head start felt this was unfair - that they were being cheated. This sounds vaguely familiar, but I digress.
As a recovering history geek and as someone with a degree in multicultural education I was curious about both 1619 and CRT. I have not read every article in The 1619 Project (I think I have one or two to finish) but I found what I did read interesting with well articulated ideas. When I first read CRT articles back in the early 2000s I didn’t know what to make of the theory. As a teacher I found the political and legal arguments interests but outside my window of classroom work. More recently, my thinking has evolved some to see more of a connection to school and schooling And that’s the thing - I read the work and decided for myself. Did I (or do I) agree with everything written - no. Am I willing to listen, yes.
Quick aside #2 - Also back in the day, during the first week of school I had my students fan out around our school building and describe how they saw the building. Everyone came back with their perspective but alone no one captured what the whole building looked like. If we put all of our perspectives together only then did we get a complete picture of what the school looked like. History is the same way. One perspective does not capture the entirety of the American experience. Yet, many conservatives are trying to legalize only one way of seeing America and criminalizing an expanded interpretation of history. POSTSCRIPT - I do recognize that this is one perspective on a large issue. I look forward to a chance to tape other perspective to my perspective to create a richer description of what’s happening.
If you read either project you will find out that neither The 1619 Project or Critical Race Theory states that it hates America or that America is evil. Neither espouse communist or socialist principles. There is, however, some mention of how unbridled capitalism does not go well with specific groups. As my students used to say - facts. If only a limited and specific group of individuals benefits from a system that is in fact not good for those who do not benefit. Both projects ask that we consider and explore the idea that racism, discrimination, and prejudice played a role in American history. Honestly, this isn’t outlandish. Sorry if I don’t take the word of a White senator from South Carolina when he says America isn’t a racist country. Uh… yeah. Forgive me, but I think it is safe to say that racism (or White supremacy if you prefer) played (still plays) a significant role in American history. Listen, don’t take my word for it. Do your homework. Analyze the information. Have a conversation without someone with a different point of view. Come to your own conclusion. Stop relying on social media and bow-tied talking heads to tell you what to think.
The cries of indoctrination represent a form of gaslighting that provides a “solution” for a “problem” that doesn’t exist in order to gain attention and power. Don’t come at me with your PC this or your woke racism bs. Save it. Those are just new shades of lipstick on the same pig you’ve been riding for decades. CRT is not anti-White.The 1619 Project is not anti-American. Neither is a form of indoctrination. If you’re against indoctrination stop punching the Pledge of Allegiance in schools. The 1776 Patriotic Education Commission crap was in fact indoctrination. The teaching of American history has long been a form of indoctrination. The story textbooks sell is a myth used to indoctrinate millions of students with a singular version of this country’s story. Deconstructing these myths is a good thing. History has to reflect all of the stories and needs to be inclusive of a multitude of experiences. Critical thinking and analysis does not mean you’re against something or for something. It just means that someone is taking a closer look and shining a different light on a subject. Doing what Dear Leader says, because he says, that’s indoctrination. Remember, teaching does not mean telling people what to think. It means teaching people to think for themselves. Stop gaslighting us.
Speaking of gaslighting, let us return to the newest evolution of conservatives I mentioned earlier. A faction of Republicans have gone off the deep end. It is to the point where I don’t recognize this breed of Republican. This faction that spews America First, WASP theories, Replacement Theory, etc. in the “media” sound more like members of the Taliban or Islamic extremists than Regan or Goldwater Republicans. Trump-ettes such as Tucker and Laura on Fox or Representatives Greene and Gaetz have manufactured a reality and created a narrative for extremists. These Radical Republicans who claim to be saving America are in fact the ones killing the American experience out of fear of losing power and anxiety around change. Now the more ‘moderate’ conservatives are forced to be bystanders to a problematic fissure in the United States. This emergent form of extremist conservatism poses more of a threat to the well being of the US than the foreign extremists they so often vilify.
The America of the Post Truth Republican Party reflects many characteristics of Big Brother’s Oceania in 1984. Their willful acceptance of lies and constant attention seeking disinformation campaigns serve selfish interests. The sole purpose of these cowardly actions is to regain and hold on to power.
I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists
in the human mind, and nowhere else. Not in the individual
mind... only in the mind of the Party, which is collective and
immortal. Whatever the Party holds to be the truth, is truth.
It is impossible to see reality except by looking through the
eyes of the Party. (1984, p. 249)
Representative McCarthy (R- CA) sounds more and more like O’Brien; while Representative Greene (R - GA) sounds and acts more and more like Winston's neighbor and co-worker Parsons. . They, like many others in his party, tirelessly work to convince us that 2 + 2 = 5. When McCarthy told reporters that no one in his party believed the election was stolen is akin to O’Brien telling Winston that 2 + 2 = 5.
‘Do you remember,' he went on, 'writing in your diary, "Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four"?'
'Yes,' said Winston.
O'Brien held up his left hand, its back towards Winston, with the thumb hidden and the four fingers extended. 'How many fingers am I holding up, Winston?'
'Four.'
'And if the party says that it is not four but five -- then how many?'
'Four.'
The word ended in a gasp of pain. (1984, p. 249)
Facts no longer matter in some halls of Congress or in large swaths of this country. Senator Cruz (R - TX) and some of his buddies embrace falsehoods for political purposes while pretending it is part of some search for truth (‘Some of my constituents believe…’). These fantasy “truths” come from specific sources who spew opinion, rumor, or disinformation and claim it as fact or news. Yet consider this - you can have an opinion, but not all opinions are valid. In fact, opinions that are not supported by evidence are truisms, not opinion. Unfortunately their gaslighting efforts have been successful.
After the 2016 election I did not jump on the bandwagons for the Trump as Hitler, Trump as fascist, or the Trump as Big Brother comparisons. More recently, with the devolution of democracy, the willful ignoring of the increased violence towards People of Color, and the criminalization of diverse voices - I have to say, those comparisons are not far fetched. A few weeks ago in our government class we read an article that reminded people the Holocaust began not with the gas chamber but with dehumanizing hate speech from politicians. It seemed to us that the parallels between past and present were too close to ignore.
So here it is…we can’t ignore how racism is woven into the fabric of our country, but I’m not sure we have to throw out the quilt. We can’t be afraid of what we find when we analyze our past, present, or future with new or different lenses. The impending social, cultural, political, and economic readjustment across groups doesn’t imply hatred for White folks or anti-Americanism. Like my students in the adjusted Red Light/Green Light, it just means that a small group of folks can’t control the game or the rules anymore. Many of the people who complain about ant-racist teaching, etc love to talk about merit based this or that. Until we level the ‘playing fields’ such a notion remains stuck between a fantasy and a bad joke. We have to come to terms with our sins of omission and commission around racism and provide equitable access to social, economic, and political resources. The critics of the anti-racist teaching, trainings, etc. actually stand in the way of creating a chance for a real meritocracy to happen.
The quest by extremist Republicans for attention, money, and control only serves their lust for power. They have abandoned democracy. Their “news” sources have as much in common with professional journalism as the WWE has in common with actual wrestling. And yet, they are either blind to the impact their actions have on our democratic institutions or have given in to their baser authoritarian instincts. Will democracy survive? Reckon it depends on if anyone on the shore notices and alerts the lifeguards or if the lifeguards can survive the destructive flailing out in the water.