Keep 'Em Out!

Last October, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments involving racial preferences accorded to minorities at both Harvard and UNC. The questioning was indicative of a growing proclivity of that very conservative Supreme Court’s to rule in favor of diehard MAGA values. Legal experts are predicting the end of affirmative action, at least as we know it, when the Court’s formal decision is released (most probably this June). But in the meantime, the notion of fighting a culture war appears to be atop the reconfigured MAGA-controlled Republican Party, with or without Donald Trump. No so much fixing what needs to be fixed, just forcing “right thinking” on all of us.

Nowhere are the culture war battlelines more clearly drawn than in Florida. While book-banning and disallowing so-called “critical race theories” (CRT) from being taught in public schools and universities are raging throughout red states and ultra-conservative school districts even in blue states, Tallahassee, Florida’s state capital appears to be the epicenter of pushing fundamental Christian values into the educational mainstream. And no one is more in charge of that movement than Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, currently the most likely GOP candidate to unseat the aging, one-note-stolen-election Donald Trump from the titular MAGA leadership.

“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday [2/1] announced plans to block state colleges from having programs on diversity, equity and inclusion, and critical race theory in his latest step onto the front lines of the nation’s culture wars… The Republican governor debuted the proposal as part of a larger, higher education legislative package that is expected to be taken up by the GOP-controlled statehouse when its regular session begins in March.

“The second-term governor, who is widely expected to launch a 2024 White House bid in the late spring or early summer, has emerged as a fierce opponent of so-called woke policies on race, gender and public health. Such positions endear him to the GOP’s conservative base but threaten to alienate independents and moderate voters in both parties who are influential in presidential politics.

“Critical race theory is a way of thinking about America’s history through the lens of racism. Scholars developed it during the 1970s and 1980s in response to what scholars viewed as a lack of racial progress following the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. It centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions, which function to maintain the dominance of white people in society.” Associated Press, February 1st. DeSantis’ appointees of state college trustees appear to be ready to ban affirmative action, all programs that foster inclusion and diversity, as new bedrock policies. It is risky to be a teacher these days in Florida and its ilk.

DeSantis has thrown down the anti-woke gauntlet – in statute (via the “Stop Woke Act,” a thinly disguised wink to White supremacy), and in actual practice, including his successful effort to force the College Board to redefine their requirements for a high school elective advanced placement course in African American studies to eliminate topics that cover current-day racial discrimination issues. See also my recent blogs including How to Dilute the Value of a High School Education, Thou Shall Not Speak of It! , and Is Ron DeSantis the New Emperor of White Christian Nationalism?

Aside from demanding that Biden undo some of his successful legislative efforts, from funding the IRS to collect more from rich scofflaws to addressing climate change and implementing toxically-delayed infrastructure repairs and upgrades, as a condition of approving an increase to the debt ceiling, the major going-forward GOP initiatives are all driven by these culture wars. They seem hell-bent on expanding their abortion ban, further blurring the lines between church and state, ending affirmative action and protecting society from anything that diminishes the onslaught of fundamental Christian values that they believe should become embedded as the law of the land. America, so many MAGAites declare, should accept that it is a Christian nation.

Indeed, Donald Trump wannabe politicians found an opportunity to rail against their perception of deviant sexual practices and anti-Christian values with the Grammy-winning music of androgenous Sam Smith and trans Kim Petras in a devilish Grammy performance of their “Unholy.” Quick to make sure their comments were heard loud, clear and first, Texas GOP Senator Ted Cruz and Georgia Republican Congressperson Marjorie Taylor Greene were prominent in a litany of rightwing critics excoriating the event and its sponsor. Cruz called it “evil,” and Greene tweeted: “The Grammy’s [sic] featured Sam Smith’s demonic performance and was sponsored by Pfizer… And the Satanic Church now has an abortion clinic in NM that requires its patients to perform a satanic ritual before services… American Christians need to get to work.”

You have to wonder how they feel about professional sports teams – like the New Jersey Devils hockey franchise – or all the college teams with demonic names, including the Sun Devils (ASU), Demon Deacons (Wake Forest), Blue Devils (Duke), Delta Devils (Mississippi Valley State), most of which schools seem to appear in GOP strongholds. I am amazed that DeSantis’ allows teams with such unholy names from playing in Florida, but I seriously doubt that Miami will be hosting the Grammys anytime soon. Ah, I remember when we were free to believe what we wanted and be who we wanted to be.

I’m Peter Dekom, and one of the most ubiquitous hallmarks of every autocracy on earth, throughout history, is strict adherence to “right thinking” values, often the product of culture wars with increasingly serious consequences for those who do not tow the “right thinking” line.