Anti-Intellectualism

A hostility to education of many sorts and to many educators is one of the hallmarks of the aggressive Zombie. This article, which you should be able to read in full, describes how this hostility is manifesting at a national level over the issue of mask mandates. The same sort of belligerence has characterized integration, the introduction of the teaching of evolution, sex education and other kinds of "progressive" thought. (Progressive is in quotes here because truth telling or a scientific orientation in general is frequently labeled "progressive," when it's really just exploration of new ideas and information.)

This sort of behavior, which often borders on violence, is always lamentable. While it is most frequently observed in Southern states where slavery flourished and in communities that have some sort of historical connection to the South, e.g., folks migrated there immediately prior to or after the Civil War, it certainly does exist widely, especially where religious affiliation is very strong.

Ron DeSantis Claims MLK Would Love Bill Banning Schools From Teaching Kids About Racism — Vanity FairThe “Stop WOKE Act” would also let parents sue school districts, much like how Texas’s abortion law deputizes citizen vigilantes.

I've labedled this "anti-intellectualism" because it's like saying that MLK was actually a fan of the Klan.

From the article:

'Critical race theory, for those of you who are unaware, is an academic concept based on the idea that racism is not about individual people’s prejudice but the racism that is embedded in the United States’ institutions and policies, like a justice system that allows a police officer to get away with fatally shooting a 12-year-old Black boy for the crime of playing with a toy gun, while a white teen is acquitted of killing two people after claiming self-defense. Again, CRT does not teach kids that all white people are racist, but you wouldn’t know that by watching Fox News or listening to GOP politicians, who would have people believe that CRT says white people are to blame for everything bad that’s ever happened in the world and that they should be forced to turn over 98% of their earnings as reparations.

'Nevertheless, DeSantis and company want voters to think that kindergarteners are being forced to write “Down with white people” over and over on the blackboard, and because of this ridiculous lie, DeSantis is now endorsing a bill letting parents take schools to court over it.'

A Bill Proposed a New Way to Teach History. It Got the History Wrong.A Republican legislator in Virginia who campaigned against critical race theory introduced a bill that incorrectly said the Lincoln-Douglas debates were between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 states are dealing with "anti-divisive" legislation that would make it illegal for teachers to present any information that would indicate that there are or have been divisions in American life and politics.

This is totalitarianism.

'The legislation would forbid school boards or educators to teach “any divisive concept,” encourage students to participate in political activism or “public policy advocacy,” or hire equity and diversity consultants.

The legislation’s wording “prohibits teachers from helping students understand the continuing role of racism in the development of American institutions and culture,” said James Grossman, the executive director of the American Historical Association, which represents more than 11,500 historians. “It provides a chilling effect that makes teachers wary of teaching accurate American history.”

'He said the bill had come from the same template as legislation introduced in more than 30 other states that seeks to ban or limit the teaching of “divisive concepts” relating to race and racism in classrooms.'

Opinion | Texas Republicans want to secede? Good riddance. — The Washington PostConsider all the benefits to the rest of the country!

So, part of me just wants to agree with this simple solution because these people are such an anathema to intelligence, facts and democracy! But...it's complicated for sure.