Americans like to think of their country as a beacon of freedom. And while we have failed in many ways to live up to that image, above all the massive injustices that have sprung from the original sin of slavery, freedom — not just free elections, but also freedom of speech and thought — has long been an element key to the American idea.
Today, however, freedom is under attack, and on more fronts than many people realize. Everyone knows about the Big Lie, the refusal of the vast majority of Republicans to accept the legitimacy of an electoral defeat. But there are many other areas where freedom is not only under attack, it is receding.
Let’s talk, in particular, about the attack on education, especially, but not only, in Florida, which has become one of the main laboratories of democratic erosion in the United States.
Republicans have made considerable political headway in denouncing the teaching of CRT (Critical Race Theory; the strategy has paid off, despite the fact that most voters have no idea what this theory is, and in fact it is not being taught in public schools But the facts in this case don’t matter, because the TCR denunciations are basically a cover for a much larger agenda: trying to stop schools from teaching anything that makes right-wing people uncomfortable.
I use that last word with consideration: there is a bill running in the Florida Senate that declares that an individual “should not be made to feel discomfort, guilt, nervousness, or any other form of psychological distress because of his race.” That is, the criterion for what can be taught is not “Is this true? Is it supported by scholarly consensus?” but rather “Does it bother certain constituencies?”
Anyone tempted to make a harmless interpretation of this provision —perhaps it’s just a matter of not assigning collective guilt?—should read the text of the law. Among other things, she cites as two basic examples of things that shouldn’t happen in schools “the denial or minimization of the Holocaust and the teaching of critical race theory” – because to suggest that “racism is embedded in American society” (the definition theory in the bill) is simply the same thing as denying that Hitler killed six million Jews.
What is really shocking, however, is the idea that schools should be banned from teaching anything that causes “annoyance”. [ou desconforto] between students and their parents. If you imagine that the consequences of applying this principle would be limited to teaching about race relations, you are being completely naive.
On the one hand, racism is far from the only troubling topic in American history. I’m sure some students will find that the story of how we came to invade Iraq — or even how we got involved in Vietnam — makes them uncomfortable. Remove these topics from the curriculum!
Then there is science teaching. Most colleges teach the theory of evolution, but leading Republican politicians are either evasive or actively denying scientific consensus, allegedly reflecting the party’s rank and file unease with this concept. When the Florida pattern prevails, how long will the teaching of evolution survive?
Geology, by the way, has the same problem. I’ve been on nature tours where the guides have refused to talk about the origins of the rock formations, saying they’ve had problems with some religious clients.
Oh, and given the growing importance of the anti-vaccine position as an emblem of the conservative alliance, how long will it be before basic epidemiology — perhaps even the microbial theory of disease — receives the same treatment as critical race theory?
Then there’s economics, which is now largely taught at secondary level. (Disclosure: Many colleges use an adapted version of the principles text I co-author.) Given the long history of politically biased attempts to prevent the teaching of Keynesian economics, what do you think the Florida standard would do to teaching in schools? my field?
The point is that the smear campaign against critical race theory is almost certainly the beginning of an attempt to subject education in general to the regime of the right-wing thought police, which will have dire consequences far beyond the specific issue of racism.
And who will enforce the rules? Guards paid by the state! Last month, Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, proposed a “Stop the WOKE Act” [WOKE é a sigla de “Wrongs Against Our Kids and Employees”, ou “erros contra nossos filhos e empregados”], which would give parents the power to sue school districts they say teach critical race theory — and charge attorney fees, a model similar to Texas’s new anti-abortion law. The mere prospect of such legal proceedings would have a freezing effect on teaching.
Did I mention that DeSantis also wants to create a special police to investigate election fraud? As with the attacks on critical race theory, this is obviously an attempt to use a made-up issue—electoral fraud is largely non-existent—as an excuse for intimidation.
Okay, I’m sure some people will say that I’m putting too much importance on these issues. But ask yourself: Has there been a point in the last five years, say, when warnings about right-wing extremism proved exaggerated and those who dismissed those warnings as “alarmists” were right?
Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves
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