Really President Trump, Now its Censorship Enforced by Withholding Federal School Funding?
Update: I did not realize when I wrote this that Trump was directly threatening California which supposedly was going to or considering adopting a curriculum based on the 1619 Project. This is not the South, but we see how this can play to Trump’s Southern strategy. In the discussion over Proposition 16 in California, which will overturn Proposition 609, which banned affirmative action in the UC system, the figures on California K-12 graduates with the courses to qualify for the UC came out. The qualified students are 44.7% Latino, 27% White, 19.9% Asian Americans, and 4.2% Black. California has a long history of prejudice against all minorities. We will choose the appropriate reality of history to teach in our schools. We don’t need a President with a long personal history of racism, who is running a racist campaign, and who is ignoring racial problems with police, having canceled programs to remedy this, to tell us what to do.
Where does one even start on this, while the Trump Brown Shirts are roaming the streets, tear gassing and harassing protestors, while demanding freedom. In this pandemic year, freedom means not wearing a mask and not social distancing, and opening bars and all schools. It also means driving to herd immunity, losing 2 million Americans “who were going to die anyway”.
It has long been a tenet of Republicans not to have the Federal Government, or even liberal states, or school districts, force liberal school curricula “down their throats”. After watching some complaints on Fox News and right wing websites, Trump has decided to halt the use of the New York Times Magazine “1619 Project” on the history and impacts of slavery, especially into the difficulties of African Americans today.
Trump has followed the previous Governor of Florida, now Senator Rick Scott, in removing “climate change”, and not just the name, from all Federal documents, requirements, and websites. This, despite the legal Federal requirement that all of the above must be based on the “best available science”.
Trump is now trying to eliminate all references to racism and its implications from the government. But state or local censorship is almost a new extension of the powers of the Reign of Trump.
Trump started his Reign by threatening to withhold federal funds from University systems who supposedly banned extreme conservative speakers, although Universities are fully capable of handling any opinions. This was tossed out by he courts. Trump’s latest racial censorship is being described as “red meat” to his supporters by CNN, while undoubtedly destined to meet the same legal fate, if it even could be carried out.
Fortunately, Americans have a “Banned in Boston” attraction to censored material, and I looked up the publications on this for the first time. Here is the starting link to the 1619 Project, though it covers many articles on all aspects of the consequences of slavery. Here is a more direct link to the articles. States and school districts are quite capable in deciding what parts of the massive curriculum that they want to use. It is an inditement that present nationwide approved school material might not be as thorough or adult as is now needed for our times.
All of this fits in with Trump’s total denial of police brutality to people of color, and Republican’s denial of any racism. It also fits in with Trump’s basing his entire campaign on imagined fears of demonstrators as anarchists, and not liberal minded Americans.
Trump has been in a continuous offensive of censorship, not just about himself or his administration, but about the truth also. Maybe the 45% who back him are taken in by the constant assault about “Fake News”, which somehow afflicts all News Media except for Fox News, and known right wing sites. But this is taken to extremes with denunciation of the Press personally, with aggressive booing at his rallies, and with serious resultant threats of physical harm on unsocial media.
Trump has pulled out all of the stops to prevent the well-timed exposes during this crucial election period, forcing Non-Disclosure Agreements on government employees, suing to stop all books about him, keeping people in prison, pardoning those who do not “rat him out”, having AG Barr stop trials, etc.
Trump has stopped all Administration members testifying before Congress, denying Congress it role in administrative oversight of spending of our money, and affecting Congressionally passed policies.
But, telling us what we can teach our children is a new low by both Democratic and Republican standards.
Maybe it is time to stop TV coverage of Trump’s so-called “Press Conferences”, that are just endless free campaign speeches, which now contain dangerous provocations for confrontations.
