Trendy Ideology

 

“We must ensure school systems are responsive to parents and to students, not partisan interest groups, and we must ensure that our institutions of higher learning are focused on academic excellence and the pursuit of truth,

not the imposition of trendy ideology.” 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Non-Trump MAGA Republican

“The receptive powers of the masses are very restricted, and their understanding is feeble...they quickly forget... all effective propaganda must be confined to a few bare essentials and those must be expressed as far as possible in stereotyped formulas. These slogans should be persistently repeated until the very last individual has come to grasp the idea that has been put forward. If this principle be forgotten and if an attempt be made to be abstract and general, the propaganda will turn out ineffective; for the public will not be able to digest or retain what is offered to them in this way.”

Adolph Hitler in Mein Kampf

Red states are vowing retaliation against banks, investment banks and funds with strong ESG (environment, social and governance) sensibilities and investment priorities. The notion of reducing portfolios heavy on fossil fuel investments in favor of more environmentally and socially more focused economic opportunities is riling governors and legislators to force their governmental investment bodies to write off such “woke” ESG investments. While the rhetoric has amped up in the New Year, these voices have been rising for some time. In August, Bloomberg wrote: “The financial consequences for most asset managers and banks from all the anti-ESG rhetoric coming out of the mouths of Republican politicians in the US is almost certain to be minimal—at least for now.

“Even if money managers who consider ESG criteria were banned from handling public pension funds in states such as Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and West Virginia—where ESG skepticism is high—a back of the envelope review supports the notion that any business losses would be insignificant relative to the firms’ overall bottom line.

“Take Florida for example. Governor Ron DeSantis has arguably been the most outspoken basher of environmental, social and governance investing. He said last week that the state’s pension funds will no longer consider ESG criteria when seeking to generate the highest returns possible.

“While DeSantis didn’t single out any companies, BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager, has received criticisms from several GOP-run states who contend the New York-based firm is pursuing ESG investment policies to the detriment of their state pension funds.

“BlackRock oversaw about $7.2 billion for the Florida Retirement System Pension Plan as recently as June. Given BlackRock’s business model, it’s safe to assume that most of those assets were in index-tracking funds that charge fees equal to less than 10 basis points, said Jon Hale, director of sustainability research for the Americas at Morningstar Inc.’s Sustainalytics unit.”

What is particularly bizarre about this trend is its misplaced rhetorical anchor in “free speech.” Ignoring the obvious oxymoron, GOP leaders have come out almost in unison in favor of censorship of public-school lesson plans and public libraries – under the guise of giving parents greater control over what their children are taught (with severe penalties for offending teachers) – to eliminate accurate depiction of racial, ethnic, religious and gender discrimination, past and present. The idea that we should teach tolerance, against a backdrop of obviously historical and contemporary facts, is viewed as a “trendy ideology” that must be purged from all facets of governmental support and tolerance. The above DeSantis quote is not about young “impressionable” elementary students but about students in Florida’s colleges and universities, where questioning academics are the essence of higher learning.

In furtherance of DeSantis remarks, “Chris Spencer, director of DeSantis’ Office of Policy and Budget, sent a memo Dec. 28 to Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. and state university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, who oversee the college and university systems… ‘As the Executive Office of the Governor prepares policy and budget proposals ahead of the 2023 Legislative Session, it is important that we have a full understanding of the operational expenses of state institutions,’ Spencer wrote in the memo. The memo said colleges and universities are required to ‘provide a comprehensive list of all staff, programs and campus activities related to diversity, equity and inclusion and critical race theory.’ In addition, they are directed to detail ‘costs associated with the administration of each program or activity,’ including a description of the activities, paid positions and how much of the money is provided by the state.” Miami Herald, January 4th.

Red state propaganda reinforces that schools are “grooming” our children into LGBTQ practices, that blame for slavery and “past” racial discrimination must be put behind us (that civil rights legislation ended racial, ethnic and religious bias… and that God has made gender issues crystal clear), and that “woke” policies placing undue pressure on business (particularly the fossil fuel industry) are un-American, unpatriotic and must end. Diversity, tolerance and environmental responsibility are not governmental priorities… and pursuing them creates new anomalies that go against traditional notions of American liberty. Gun ownership, even military assault weapons, “remains” a basic right since this nation was founded… even though the first Supreme Court decision to embrace that notion was decided in 2008.

If the chaos of selecting a House Speaker is any indication, if the changing demographics of younger American voters is reflective of what Americans really want, Ron DeSantis and his ilk are on the wrong side of history. Their only ability to cling to power is to make sure that the American voting system keeps those who oppose them from asserting their proportionate political power.

I’m Peter Dekom, and those believing that White Christian Nationalism is being

“replaced” are increasingly willing to deploy anti-democratic policies and directives to achieve their goals… including violence.