State Governments And Educational Curriculums

Florida Government Declares War On Liberal Arts Curriculum At State Universities!

Censorship and right wing orthodoxy is the new war on knowledge now being waged by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida State Board of Education, in its blatant attack on the educational curriculum at state colleges and universities.

Sociology has been banned as part of the “core” curriculum, as earlier, Advanced Placement African American history has been rejected as “woke” ideology.

This political attack on liberal arts education is alarming, and it is spreading to other states, who have declared war on “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”.

The replacement for the Sociology survey course is “US History to 1877”, which it is claimed will cover the realities of early American history, but one has to wonder will the “Trail of Tears” action against native American tribes, and the ugly reality of slavery really be covered in the curriculum?

Ron DeSantis, when teaching high school two decades ago, argued with students against slavery being the major cause of the American Civil War; and Nikki Haley, when asked about that conflict failed to mention that slavery was the primary cause of the Civil War, and has said that America is not a racist nation.

So it is clear that mind control and propaganda are winning out over reality and truth in college curriculums in the public colleges and universities in the state of Florida!

The War On Knowledge Is Horrifying And Extremely Dangerous!

The war on knowledge is in full swing in much of America, particularly “Red” America, including the megastates of Texas and Florida, but also many other states.

War has been declared on teachers and what they teach in their classrooms!

War has been declared on librarians and book shelves in public and school libraries!

There is a constant barrage of attacks on so called “woke” ideas, which means to have compassion, empathy, and concern about those less privileged in a society where wealthy white people prevail in control, and want to limit diversity, inclusion, and equity, for poor people, immigrants, women, people of color, and gays, lesbians, and transexuals!

The hate being promoted by Ron DeSantis in Florida is escalating elsewhere, and threatening the very existence of marginal groups, and encouraging breakdown of mental health, victimizing young people in particular, but really promoting, ultimately, a return to white supremacy and advocating Christian dominance in a society that is supposed to be one of separation of church and state!

If DeSantis, Donald Trump, or their ilk win back control of both houses of Congress and the White House in 2024, then the fear that many Americans had during the early days of World War II, that we would have American Fascism taking over, maybe in the name of aviator Charles Lindbergh back then, could very well come to pass!

American freedom and democracy could end, and who could say that there would not be those politicians who would not come up with a variation of the “Final Solution” of Adolf Hitler?

This is not light banter, but rather makes clear the very serious and growing threat to basic civil liberties, including freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly!

We could see another “Holocaust” as people of color experienced in America with widespread discrimination and brutality visited against native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and non Christians in varying degrees, history that people like DeSantis do not want to be taught!

It is time for patriotic Americans to make clear that we are not going to allow those promoting hate and division to triumph in the future, so the upcoming elections in 2024 and beyond are not a time to sit on the sidelines and just hope for a miracle!

Actions are necessary to insure the future of American democracy and freedom, and the empathy, sincerity, decency, and compassion that Joe Biden and others like him promote, MUST triumph for survival of the nation we love!

Growing Threats To Election Officials In States, Members Of Congress From Right Wing Trump Supporters!

The refusal of Donald Trump to concede in the Presidential Election of 2020 one year later and counting has created a poisonous, threatening situation for dozens of election officials in many states, AND members of Congress who have been courageous enough to be critical of Trump, including supporting his impeachment and support the infrastructure legislation that passed by a bipartisan vote.

It has also caused threats and confrontations of election board and school board members in many states, including threatening phone calls and emails, designed to discourage people from participating in promotion of American democracy and educational curriculum and more.

Private security and police support is required for so many public officials and staff who never had to worry before now about dangers to their lives and families.

We are in the midst of a “Reign of Terror”, by domestic terrorists and white supremacists, egged on by the 45th President, and yet, so far, nothing seems to be working to hold him accountable, and deal with the horrific situation the nation faces.

And the next rounds of elections, state and congressional in 2022, and the presidential election of 2024, seem highly likely to be a time of potentially greater crises and threats than even the events of the past year, from the US Capitol Insurrection of January 6, 2021 onward!

There is a growing sense that America may experience the kind of Fascist authoritarian threat presented in the mid 20th century by Fascist Italy and Benito Mussolini, and Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler, as well as other authoritarian leaders in other nations past and present!

The Republican Party Base Is Anti Immigrant, But They Are Also Anti Science And Anti Historical Fact!

The Republican Party base is anti immigrant (nativist), and has prevented immigration reform, despite the efforts over the years of Republicans, such as John McCain and George W. Bush to deal with the issue, alongside Democrats, including Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and a multitude of others.

It is also anti Science, allowing right wing evangelical Christians to utilize mind control, and to attack evolution a century after the Scopes Trial, and to be anti vaccine and anti mask advocates, and also anti climate change, along with attacking Dr. Anthony Fauci.

And the Republican Party base is also anti history, wanting to promote a “white” history, without discussion of the horrendous treatment and abuse of African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic-Latino Americans, and Asian Americans over the long run of American history.

The situation for teachers of the Social Sciences and American history, and also of American literature teachers who assign fiction that depicts and informs us of horrible mistreatment and racial language, is in crisis, as many teachers will lose their positions as state governments in many of the states dictate how their curriculums are to be controlled and presented.

Lawsuits are beginning by teachers’ unions and other groups to stop censorship of the truth, but the Republican Party base promoting “Know Nothingism” on immigration, science and history are an attack on academic freedom that must be fought through all legal means!