Previously on this blog, you'll find a post entitled: 'Flippin' the Script: Exposing Critical Race Theory.' Amid the text of the article are six inspirational videos on the topic of CRT. It's the belief of this author that we have an inherent duty to do whatever we can in our capacity to resist bad ideas before they take root and radically alter society. These clips reminded me of why I'm so vehemently against this insidious & racist school of thought.
Before advancing further, I want to tell you how I define "racism." I go with Google's definition that got derived from the Oxford dictionary; it reads as follows: "prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people.." (based on) "..their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized." This definition is congruent with what racism is in my world.
As an avid reality bender, I think it's important to note a couple of things. Nobody has an objective perspective on either present or past events. All of the data we vacuum up through our five senses gets filtered and framed accordingly with the sum totality of our life experiences. At best, we sometimes have a shared but delusional consensus on truth.
Even when reading books, historical, fiction, or otherwise; We are subjecting ourselves to the reality filters possessed by the various authors we read. Their biases, agenda, known, unknown, or otherwise will shine through in the words they choose, and it will color your perspective on any given topic. One might be of the school of thought that you can't trust anything you read on the internet. That in and of itself is a bit loaded and suggests the contrary is true (that somehow typed ink on paper has a monopoly on reality).
If you believe either of those, you're either hard of thinking or not thinking at all. If only reality were that simple, things would be so much easier. We could avoid some of the hard truths we find on the internet, many that take the form of conspiracy theories, or we could believe everything contained in any book, no matter how absurd it seems to us.
I think I've adequately primed you for the main video I wanted to share. This one from the American Heritage Foundation highlights the infamous 1619 project. If you're unfamiliar, this brainwashing course is a tool that's covertly used to indoctrinate young minds into the cult of Critical Race Theory's variety of racism, mostly against "straight white males."
I cringe a bit when I watch this video because even though it debunks the bogus 1619 (CRT pushing) project, no matter how you slice and dice up history, you can't accurately distill any of it down to three and a half minutes. So in a sense, it's on a par with that 'TIME MASHEEN' bit from 'Idiocracy' where "the U.N., un-Nazi'd the world, forever."
Essentially we all need at least some history for a reference point to know where we stand in this world, as Americans (or whatever one's nationality is). So, when the Heritage Foundation distilled the Civil War down to the abolishment of slavery; It carved out a chunk of nuance large enough to fly a Boeing 737 through. However, none of us are that old, wise, or learned well enough to know precisely what went down and why.
The one sure-fire truth of the matter is that the more data you consume about the Civil War, you'll have a greater insight into the various nuance surrounding the topic. If you know anything about politics, it's a dirty game of overlapping and warring ideologies and agendas. You can look at it as if it's simple black and white, but more accurately, the further you get into the details, you'll realize that it's mostly a haze of gradient greys.
One thing I can appreciate about this video is how it starts. It says, "which history would you choose," and therein comes the magickal bit, the reality-bending. Whether you like it or not, you are a reality bender. We do this all the time, and the only difference between us is that now I know I'm doing it, and this means that I can take full advantage of how I choose to perceive reality, and when you have the realization, you'll probably do the same.
That said, should we Americans look at history through rose-colored glasses and take pride in areas where we have become better, or should we have a more jaundiced view? Perhaps schools should teach black people that they are permanently disadvantaged and cannot accomplish anything because the straight white oppressor will prevent it?
I can't speak to the accuracy of either of these two "His stories," however, I know which one I'm choosing, and I know why too. It doesn't serve me or anyone else to assume the role of permanent victim or oppressor. And this is especially true if these things get determined by something so trivial as the amount of melanin seen in a person's skin.
All of that said, I'd like to end on a high note. I found this fantastic video of a passionate and outspoken man called Ty Smith. He stands before a school board meeting to give the board a piece of his mind about why Critical Race Theory is so blatantly offensive, not only to himself personally, but also why it's a harmful ideology to teach to children.
For whatever reason, I've found this article extraordinarily difficult to write. Whoever you are, I'm hopeful that you got to read it after I finished the editing process, which spanned approximately two days. My sincere desire is that this will get used as a tool to change people's hearts and minds on either CRT, racism, or for that matter, reality itself. If you know someone you think can benefit from this post, please pay it forward by linking it up!