Righteous Acts

The Trump administration has recently taken four important actions confronting the scourge of racial discrimination and stereotyping underlying Critical Race Theory and embraced by the advocates of Woke theology (for more on the dangers posed by CRT read other posts in the Your Future series). They are the cornerstones of a strong Federal response to CRT and are certain to be immediately undone if Joe Biden is elected.

The first is the investigation of Princeton University by the Department of Education based upon the admission by its President that it is a racist institution, and therefore possibly acting in contravention of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Second, the Department of Justice lawsuit against Yale University for its alleged discriminatory admission practices, also in violation of the Civil Rights Act.

But it is the next two that are, by far, the most important:

On September 4, Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a directive banning Critical Race training in the Federal government. This followed the revelation that such training has infiltrated the federal bureaucracy in recent years.

Vought's letter states:

"These types of 'trainings' not only run counter to the fundamental beliefs for which our Nation has stood since its inception, but they also engender division and resentment within the Federal workforce. We can be proud that as an employer, the Federal government has employees of all race, ethnicities, and religions."

Banned is:

". . . any training on 'critical race theory', 'white privilege', or any other training or propaganda effort that teaches or suggests either (1) that the United States is an inherently racist or evil country or (2) that any race or ethnicity is inherently racist or evil." 

The final act is the Executive Order (EO) issued by President Trump on September 22 banning Critical Race Theory training by Federal contractors and grantees, an EO impacting a wide array of institutions from business corporations doing business with the government to colleges and universities which receive federal grants (the details of the EO can be found at the end of this post).

Democrats and their media allies have falsely and repeatedly claimed that this EO bans diversity training. This is a lie.

To the contrary, the order explicitly:

 . . .  does not prevent agencies, the United States Uniformed Services, or contractors from promoting racial, cultural, or ethnic diversity or inclusiveness, provided such efforts are consistent with the requirements of this order.

Moreover it allows for academic discussion of Critical Race Theory, providing:

Nothing in this order shall be construed to prohibit discussing, as part of a larger course of academic instruction, the divisive concepts listed in section 2(a) of this order in an objective manner and without endorsement.

It is a moral disgrace that 56 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, large parts of the academy, media, and one of our political parties have embraced this doctrine (the tipoff is anyone invoking the term "systemic racism" supports CRT) and that such an Executive Order is needed. 

As progressive Zaid Jilani has noted:

The portion of people who view their race as defining them declined a lot during the 20th century, coinciding with a big decline in implicit and explicit bias. These folks really looked at that and said we want to crank it up again?

And beyond just the effect on race relations, CRT is a reactionary doctrine that would reverse the Enlightenment and take us back to an era of tribalism and clans, set at each others throats.

Keeping the United States together, a nation of 330 million with diverse ideas and backgrounds is not easy. CRT is not only designed to make it harder to keep our country together but it is opposed to the idea of "neutral processes". Neutral process is the idea that our government institutions and judicial processes will strive to have processes that work equally for all parties. It means that no actions or elections are irreversible or should be events posing an existential threat to any American citizen. In reality, no processes are perfect, or perfectly neutral, but being able to assure some basic level of adherence to these processes is essential in the trust needed to maintain a democratic republic.

CRT rejects the concept of neutral processes, believing that all institutions are based on racial group-centered power hierarchies and that is all there is. There are no real ideas as such, there are no differing individual perspectives. The only question is who is on top of the hierarchy and those are top are entitled to wield power in any way they believe is justified. It is why if CRT advocates control our culture they would have no hesitation in banning any dissenting views, openly endorsing repression. My principles when I was a liberal democrat and today include freedom of speech freedom of conscience, and due process and equality under the law. It turns out that for many who professed the same beliefs it was merely a tactical move. An America where CRT holds sway in government and our institutions will be transformed into an unrecognizable country.

Or, as Frank Hebert wrote in Children of Dune:

When I am Weaker than you, I ask you for Freedom because that is according to your principles; when I am Stronger than you, I take away your Freedom because that is according to my principles.

And, once again, in a Biden Administration these actions will be immediately reversed. My guess is Biden does not understand what CRT really is, but those around him surely do, as will the thousands of Democrats appointed to political positions in the Federal bureaucracy in a Biden administration, and the progressive trained judges appointed by Biden (or Harris).

As a palette cleanser let's close with the UK Minister for Equalities, Kemi Badenoch, blasting CRT.

The EO is titled, Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping.  In the preamble, after discussing the creed expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the sentiments of President Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr regarding equality and the worth of the individual, it goes on to say:

Today, however, many people are pushing a different vision of America that is grounded in hierarchies based on collective social and political identities rather than in the inherent and equal dignity of every person as an individual. This ideology is rooted in the pernicious and false belief that America is an irredeemably racist and sexist country; that some people, simply on account of their race or sex, are oppressors; and that racial and sexual identities are more important than our common status as human beings and Americans.

This destructive ideology is grounded in misrepresentations of our country’s history and its role in the world. Although presented as new and revolutionary, they resurrect the discredited notions of the nineteenth century’s apologists for slavery who, like President Lincoln’s rival Stephen A. Douglas, maintained that our government “was made on the white basis” “by white men, for the benefit of white men.” Our Founding documents rejected these racialized views of America, which were soundly defeated on the blood-stained battlefields of the Civil War. Yet they are now being repackaged and sold as cutting-edge insights. They are designed to divide us and to prevent us from uniting as one people in pursuit of one common destiny for our great country.

It then cites several recent examples of training in this pernicious doctrine:

Training materials from Argonne National Laboratories, a Federal entity, stated that racism “is interwoven into every fabric of America” and described statements like “color blindness” and the “meritocracy” as “actions of bias.”

Materials from Sandia National Laboratories, also a Federal entity, for non-minority males stated that an emphasis on “rationality over emotionality” was a characteristic of “white male[s],” and asked those present to “acknowledge” their “privilege” to each other.

A Smithsonian Institution museum graphic recently claimed that concepts like “[o]bjective, rational linear thinking,” “[h]ard work” being “the key to success,” the “nuclear family,” and belief in a single god are not values that unite Americans of all races but are instead “aspects and assumptions of whiteness.” The museum also stated that “[f]acing your whiteness is hard and can result in feelings of guilt, sadness, confusion, defensiveness, or fear.”

The preamble concludes:

Therefore, it shall be the policy of the United States not to promote race or sex stereotyping or scapegoating in the Federal workforce or in the Uniformed Services, and not to allow grant funds to be used for these purposes. In addition, Federal contractors will not be permitted to inculcate such views in their employees.

Banned are nine types of "divisive concepts":

(1) one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex; 

(2) the United States is fundamentally racist or sexist; 

(3) an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously; 

(4) an individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his or her race or sex; 

(5) members of one race or sex cannot and should not attempt to treat others without respect to race or sex; 

(6) an individual’s moral character is necessarily determined by his or her race or sex; 

(7) an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex; 

(8) any individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race or sex; or

(9) meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist, or were created by a particular race to oppress another race. The term “divisive concepts” also includes any other form of race or sex stereotyping or any other form of race or sex scapegoating. 

"Race or sex stereotyping" is defined as:

. . . ascribing character traits, values, moral and ethical codes, privileges, status, or beliefs to a race or sex, or to an individual because of his or her race or sex.

"Race or sex scapegoating" is defined as:

. . . assigning fault, blame, or bias to a race or sex, or to members of a race or sex because of their race or sex. It similarly encompasses any claim that, consciously or unconsciously, and by virtue of his or her race or sex, members of any race are inherently racist or are inherently inclined to oppress others, or that members of a sex are inherently sexist or inclined to oppress others.

The EO also directs the Attorney General to:

. . .  continue to assess the extent to which workplace training that teaches the divisive concepts set forth in section 2(a) of this order may contribute to a hostile work environment and give rise to potential liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 . . .