Whenever a child learns critical thinking, a conspiracy theory dies. This is the fear of Ron DeSantis in his crusade against the proper education of the children and college age adults in the State of Florida. His banning of books and course content is reminiscent of Hitler and his crusade against books, learning and critical thinking that lead to the Holocaust and the extermination of millions of people.
In DeSantis' view, if you are not adhering to his white, Christian ultra-conservative beliefs and morals, then you are not equal and should not be treated that way. He is against WOKE policies although he does not even understand WOKE. To him it is just a trigger word to incite those ignorant enough to agree with him on his far right policies.
WOKE: Aware of and actively attentive to important societal FACTS and issue...especially issues of racial and social justice. A great synonym for Woke is "Open one's eyes." Given that, why are people like DeSantis, Trump, McCarthy and Huckabee Sanders so worked up about a Woke society? By denying our factual history about how the LGBTQ community or the African-American community has been treated and viewed by society as a whole does not make that history go away. They want you to bury your head in the sand and not teach our children the truth about how this country was founded on the backs of slaves nor how we all live on land stolen from the indigenous people that preceded the Europeans that "founded" America nor how they or the gay community have been treated as less than equal.
Again...Whenever a child learns critical thinking, a conspiracy theory dies. So, their solution is to only teach ABC's and adding and subtraction and ignore the ability to develop critical thinking in our young people. Banning books, ignoring the truth and only teaching a narrow view of the world is better for their brand, simply because the DeSantis' of the world don't want any views other than their own narrow views exposed to those growing up. Besides, Critical Race Theory(CRT) is not and never has been taught in the public schools in Florida. It is discussed in College Level Law School courses, but DeSantis is creating a solution to a problem that doesn't exist! However, he realizes that the suppression of the truth is better for the perpetuation of lies and myths.
When I read the list of books that DeSantis and his ilk have either banned or are trying to ban, it nauseates me. They include Of Mice and Men, One Flew over The Cuckoos Nest, Brave New World, The Color Purple, The Kite Runner, Beloved, The Great Gatsby, Catcher In The Rye, I am Jazz and many, many more. It is proposed to ban Animal Farm, Portnoy's Complaint, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Charlotte's Web and more classics that might offend someone's outdated, ultra-conservative, misguided views. Certainly, To Kill A Mockingbird must be next. I cannot help but laugh at the statement that some of those books actually have animals speaking, so they must be bad!
This is not what should be done anywhere in our supposed "Free Country." DeSantis touts Florida as the "Freest State in the Country." That is so laughable, it has to be a punch line to a longer story. Free? Not free to teach the truth. Free? Not free if you are gay or transgendered. Free? Not free if you want to check a classic book out of the school library.
Free? Not free if you are a duly elected official and say something that pisses off DeSantis, so he removes you from office. Free? Not when you are a teacher in Florida and are being told that you can be charged with a felony if you have books in your classroom that talk of sexuality or racism.
Free? Not when you are a convicted felon who has served their time, but still not allowed to vote or hold office because the state government ignores the law giving you those rights and decides that you haven't paid your court costs and must therefore pay a poll tax in order to restore those rights.
Free? Not when there is a Governor in the State who ignores the rampant racism, gay bashing and anti-semitism in the State and, in fact, embraces it. Free? Not when that same Governor signs a "parental rights bill" that is anything but that...just Don't Say Gay!
Free? DeSantis often seems to revel in his contempt for the First Amendment and even fund raises off of it. Shortly before he signed unconstitutional legislation punishing The Walt Disney Company for criticizing one of his policies, the governor sent a fundraising email to supporters touting the fact that he was doing so. The company, DeSantis said, was being punished after it "Tried to attack me to advance their woke agenda."
Free? DeSantis signed legislation imposing speech codes on university professors. Free? The Governor has threatened drag performers and venues with criminal charges, or at the very least, taking away their liquor licenses.
Free? Not when DeSantis uses the sovereign powers of government to shape public discourse itself by punishing some ideas, rewarding other and conscripting public schools and Universities into his culture war. He uses those powers to sanction speech he does not like and to punish institutions that criticize him.
Whenever a child learns critical thinking, a conspiracy theory dies. I vote for Truth. I vote for honesty. I vote for the rule of law. I vote for diversity and equality. I vote for teaching our children how to think for themselves. I vote for REAL FREEDOM.
And I embrace Kindness.
And The Journey continues.......
