The CRT Scam

https://www.npr.org/2021/06/24/1009882751/the-battle-over-teaching-critical-race-theory

While the interview is less than pleasant to listen to, it nevertheless is warranted. I was pleased to note that some have picked up on the fact that the current Critical Race Theory frenzy is little more than hype and it also represents an attempt by Right-wing forces to generate a new wave of Tea Party-type hysteria. The parallels are obvious it was refreshing to hear someone else take note of it.

As the interview reveals, much if not most of the focus on Critical Race Theory is fiction. There are some instances of academics and school districts that have taken things a little too far and yet for the most part the whole narrative being promoted and perpetuated by FOX and its offshoots is fiction, hype and a deliberate attempt to get people upset and whipped up. And obviously it's working.

We've seen this so many times. From the ACA (Obamacare) to the Iraq War, the Right-wing street is manipulated and worked over by the activists and leading forces of the Right. The politicians, monied interests, activist think-tanks and the like play the base like a fiddle – and this largely includes the Evangelical world and its corrupt and often inept leadership. The latter fall for it hook, line, and sinker and particularly susceptible to the perception of being 'inside', and important in the larger fight. Some reap financial benefits, and some garner other types of benefits through connections and influence they deem to be important. Others just buy into it, hoping for something more. But discernment is abandoned and the flock is handed over to the wolves. Every few years there's a new 'thing' that is employed and right now it's CRT.

Governed by their own internal narratives, these segments of the population and the Church are in denial over some real but ugly truths about American society and its history. Understandably disturbed over the cultural and political trajectory the country has taken during the Obama-Trump years, some Christian leaders have been caught up in the moment and have tried to speak out – realising just how much the culture and politics are affecting the Church. They are viciously attacked for doing so – the attacks against them in most cases being far more disturbing than their well-meant if sometimes misguided attempts to address race issues on an ecclesiastical level.

Schoolteachers and professors attempting to address the turmoil in any capacity are coming under attack and the base is further aggravated and energised by the utilisation of terms like 'Marxism' and 'Communism', even though these ideologies aren't even seriously on the table. There are many 'reputable' academics and Christian leaders who know this and yet perpetuate the lie because it gets attention. Others I've come to believe are ignorant and use the terms in ignorance which itself is a sad commentary on the state of leadership and the institutions they represent.

The whole hysteria over CRT is a massive exaggeration and as the interview (even if taken with a grain of salt) reveals, it's being used to not just stir emotions but it's hoped that people getting involved in local school boards will lead to further political involvement. This is a deliberate programmatic campaign. It's not new. I've been encountering this strategy in Evangelical circles for many years but it's never gained serious traction as the movement is split over issues surrounding education. And yet this movement is gaining traction and is now well beyond the Evangelical sphere. In many respects the Evangelicals are simply being swallowed up by this larger Right-wing Trumpite wave they've allied with and sold themselves out to.

They are losing and will ultimately lose their identity in the process.