Critical Race Theory: Out of the Closet
by Gary Wickham
“If Americans permit thought control, business control, and freedom control to continue, we shall surely move within the shadows of fascism.” –Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2 NIV).
Mass Deception
It was an ingenious masquerade. Academic elites assured us critical race theory (CRT) was merely an intellectual tool to be bantered about in universities and law schools. Using this “tool,” they were merely taking a fresh look at racism through the lens of those who might be oppressed by our cultural and societal systems, and why not? America has had a long history of fighting racial injustices, so it might be good to take another look. We were brazenly deceived and lied to by our own passive naiveté. Even the word “theory” masked the evil practices of CRT which had been molesting our traditional values for decades.
A recent awakening began when criticisms of CRT started cropping up and CRT defenders put themselves outside any reasonable discussion. Their retorts were usually personal and irretractable. “You are either for us or you are against us. You are either in the program or you are not.”
In America we disagree, debate, hash things out, and work hard not to let our differences destroy our relationships. Nevertheless, the National School Board Association continued their false assertion that “CRT has never existed and is only a boogeyman invented by conservatives.” The National Education Association (NEA) chimed in and disingenuously declared “CRT is not taught in virtually any K-12 schools in the country and can only be found in colleges.” What happened next was nothing short of a miracle.
Working from home during the mandated COVID restrictions, parents in Loudoun County, Virginia were shocked to see on their children’s school laptops extreme sexualization, transgender indoctrination, and accusations of white racism. This appalling discovery ignited angry parents who clashed with the Loudoun County School Board and made national headlines. This national exposure prompted other parents to attend school board meetings, many for the first time, to ask probing questions about what their children were being taught.
Whose Children Are They?
The pushback was immediate and harsh. Angry parents demanding autonomy over their children’s education were being called “domestic terrorists.” At the request of the NEA, the Justice Department even considered sending FBI agents to school board meetings to arrest unruly parents. It became clear there had been a longstanding and unchallenged “rule” that parents have no right to question school curriculum and certainly not to demand changes.
The ruckus between parents and educators has opened a larger debate over whether parents have the right to know how their local schools operate or what materials can be taught. The Loudoun County “miracle” opened the closet door to the light of day, exposing woke-minded teachers who are grooming kindergarten and grade school children with controversial, nonacademic values.
Teaching good values begins at home. Kindergartners and grade school children cannot filter truth from falsehood or good from evil when progressive values are tightly woven into the “Three R’s” of reading, writing, and arithmetic. That is why Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, recently signed the Parental Rights in Education Act which prevents Florida educators from teaching gender identity or sexual orientation to kids between kindergarten and third grade. Hopefully, more states will follow suit.
The Power of Words
“A society that puts equality—in the sense of equality of outcome—ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom. The use of force to achieve equality will destroy freedom.” —Milton Friedman
“He who controls language controls the masses.” –Saul Alinsky
Equity
Some words, when put into practice, can become so powerful they can shape a nation—good or bad. CRT’s popular go-to word “equity” has moved America ever closer to a Marxist ideology that squelches individual liberties. Equity is forced equality that creates sameness by prioritizing groups over individuals. Equity uses collectivism to push aside freedom and individualism, leaving little room for individual pursuits or free independent thinking.
Our political parties have different views regarding equity and collectivism that should be seriously considered when voting in the upcoming November midterms. Democrats prefer to collect federal power in Washington, while Republicans choose to place power in the hands of the states, which are more responsive to the will of the people. The above-noted Florida Parental Rights Act is just one example.
Equity was also the mechanism behind mandating every American to wear a mask, social distance, and stay quarantined, as well as closing schools, businesses, and churches. Equity is not science; it is forced equality applied by politicians. Executive orders are examples of forced equality and collectivism where the president of the United States can mandate nationwide edicts without congressional approval. Internationally, globalism is another form of equity or forced equality in which nations suppress their nationalistic freedoms to submit to dictated global requirements, like reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Inclusion
A legitimate question is how CRT and LGBTQI+ became wrapped together under the same umbrella. The answer is found in the CRT manufactured word “inclusion.” Inclusion empowers CRT to collect under its wings every minority that has ever felt discrimination because of the systemic flaws in the U.S. government and social justice systems. In addition to color and gender identities, CRT’s umbrella includes women, immigrants, the homeless, Asians, Hispanics, and many other groups. With these inclusions, proponents of CRT and their underlings can corporately expand their voices, making it appear their agendas have a large majority of support.
CRT Racism
Without apology, CRT has created an alarming new definition of “racism.” Children in schools, adults in the workplace, and soldiers in the military are all being indoctrinated to the notion that white-male dominance is the primary cause of all Western racial oppression. The practice of canceling white males like our Founding Fathers and demolishing their statues is a type of racial scapegoating. The sins of these men are sent off into the wilderness of unpublished history, while any stones or statues of their remembrance are destroyed.
Sadly, vulnerable children are taught there is no remedy for white people who must live with the perpetual shame of incurable white racism. They are told “white people always benefit from racism, regardless of their good intentions; intentions are irrelevant.” Critical race theory is itself racist. It is pulling us back to the terrible days of black racism when the color of a person’s skin was more important than the content of their character.
Discernment
In Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus to tell them the signs of His coming and the end of the age. Jesus put deception at the top of this list: “And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you’” (see Matthew 24:4 NKJV). The chief danger in these last days is being deceived. Since the Garden, Satan has been calling evil good and good evil.
It is not “good” that biological males can become transgender and compete against biological females in collegiate athletics. It is not “good” that Disney is implementing a gay agenda to entertain small children with woke sexuality. It is not “good” that Disney has gone totally gender neutral. It is not “good” that our newest Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, refused to define the word “woman.” It is not “good” that public schools, colleges, workplaces, and the entertainment industry have taken it upon themselves to recraft American values from cradle to grave.
No matter how painful, we must stay keenly aware of the current issues of our day. Staying informed through reliable sources will keep us from falling into the glut of deception that is so readily available today. Seeking the Lord’s will and purpose in these difficult times is urgently needed. Humility, wisdom, and the fear of the Lord are critical. We must stand and fight against the wickedness of critical race theory wherever it is found.
