Now that parents realize the schools have been indoctrinating their kids, will they remain vigilant for other forms of indoctrination? Using our children as fodder in a political fight was a line the left shouldn’t have crossed—but they did. Now they’ve triggered the immune system of the body politic.
Protests against Critical Race Theory (CRT) are breaking out all over America. It may even be shaping up as a major election issue next year. Parents are protesting against CRT at school board meetings and with their local school administrations. It has become such a heated issue that even state and local governments are getting involved — and they’re not coming down on the side of CRT.
But CRT supporters are telling opponents that they simply don’t understand what it is. They claim they’re fighting racism by giving children a complete and well-rounded picture of the issue. They assert that opponents are denying the reality of history by not supporting CRT. But is that really the case? Are opponents just a bunch of ignorant rubes that don’t get it?
There are a number of books and papers on CRT which provide numerous philosophical interpretations. However, they all subscribe to five basic tenets.
Tenet 1—Racism is a Central Component of American Life
Translation: Racism pervades everything that defines our American culture. Systems, institutions, and even our history are all compromised by racism. Buildings must be renamed and monuments removed. In Wisconsin, even a rock was removed because it was deemed a symbol of racism. The theory is that racism has corrupted everything in America.
Tenet 2—CRT Rejects the Goal of Color Blindness
Translation: CRT does not subscribe to the notion that we should “judge each other by the content of our character rather than the color of our skin.” It teaches us to remain cognizant of each other’s melanin level at all times. CRT rejects “color blindness” because it views the races as engaged in a grand contest. Its proponents view attempts to create a “color blind” society as privileged whites trying the end the game while they’re ahead. They don’t want equality — equal opportunity. They want equity — equal results. The competition must continue until reparations (payback) for past wrongs have been extracted.
Tenet 3—Anecdotal Experiences of People of Color are More Valid than Statistical or Empirical Evidence
Translation: It doesn’t matter what the data shows, if people of color (POC) feel oppressed, they are. If they feel targeted by police, it’s because of systemic racism. If they feel held back at work, it’s because of the color of their skin. If they think they heard a fan at a baseball game yell a racial epithet, it doesn’t matter that he was actually yelling “Dinger” at the club mascot. The content of the fan’s character is irrelevant, if someone thinks he’s a racist, he’s guilty. For proponents of CRT, perception is deemed more relevant than reality.
Tenet 4—CRT Challenges the Lessons of Conventional History
Translation: If history doesn’t comport with claims of systemic racism, history must be changed. America fought a civil war to end slavery and embarked on a civil rights movement to stamp out the last vestiges of actual systemic racism. But to accept those facts would be to acknowledge that there is something truly noble and exceptional about America. Such a historical perspective cannot be allowed to stand. Hence, we’ve been treated to the 1619 Project, which asserts that America was not founded in 1776 as a beacon of liberty to the world, but rather in 1619 when the first slaves arrived in the western hemisphere. We’re to believe that this country was founded on the principle of human rights not for everyone, but only for the privileged few. The country was founded on the basis of a lie and is therefore irredeemable.
