Roy Exum
There is a cute story about Manfred Eigen, a German biophysical chemist who won a 1967 Nobel Prize for discovering reaction times to chemicals, his brilliance eventually saving millions of people. Dr. Eigen once said, “In theory, there is no different between theory and practice. But in practice there is.” Of course, the doctor was referring to medical practice and truer words have never been spoken. All the learned men nodded and went harummmpt! But soon some ‘gagwit’ misattributed the quote to baseball’s comical Yogi Berra – where the art of ‘practice’ is far difference in America’s game -- and Yogi’s version soon became bigger than his catcher’s mitt with the Yankees, and to this day is among the top 100 lines in baseball … and Yogi never was the first to say it!
Okay, now that we’ve pushed theory into its rightful corner, there is a new-found lust among the liberal elites that is every bit as humorous to me. I have paid no attention to this new-fangled ‘Critical Race Theory’ that today’s liberals are prancing around like it is The Hope Diamond, and in truth it is so blatantly off the charts it is only scarcely worthy of mention.
Seriously, do you – as you read this – in your farthest dreams believe race, or racism, is the core value of the United States? The claim is so ludicrous, it defies common sense. Critical Race Theory (CRT) is, by definition, “an academic movement made up of civil rights scholars and activists in the United States who seek to critically examine the law as it intersects with issues of race, and to challenge mainstream liberal approaches to racial justice.”
Yep, same with me: yawn. America’s true core values? Freedom would be my pick at first blush, since its presence supersedes justice, and liberty, and worship, and the proof of fulfilled hope - those would be my first five. But no. We have a very pointed crowd of self-centered activitists who believe if they play the tattered race card, they can force their minorities onto corporate boards, “diversity training,” focus groups to outlaw good words, and anonymous pronouns that make such little sense we already detest them.
There is currently a well-timed article on the Internet entitled, “Critical Race Theory Is About To Face Its Day(s) In Court.” It is magnificently written by John Murawski, who penned it for RealClearInvestigations, an off shoot of the realclearfoundation. It is lengthy and well worth your time – he discusses his points in keen detail and can easily be obtained in full on the foundation website. But here is the summary …
* * *
“CRITICAL RACE THEORY IS ABOUT TO FACE ITS DAY(S) IN COURT”
Witten by John Muraswski for RealClearInvestigations., per realclearfoundation.com …
- - -
A SUMMARY
Critical race theory -- holding that racism, not liberty, is the core value of American society -- is about to face a reckoning in courts across the country this year, John Murawski reports for RealClearInvestigations. In a spate of lawsuits expected to peak this summer, parents, teachers, students, and public workers allege that it encourages discrimination and other illegal policies targeting whites, males, and Christians.
Murawski reports:
* -- The challenges come as President Biden has jettisoned a Trump ban on pushing critical race theory in the federal workforce -- and thrown his progressive-leaning administration four-square behind "racial equity" to counter "systemic racism," especially in education.
* -- In one suit, white women allege that a New York City public school diversity trainer told employees: "White colleagues must take a step back and yield to colleagues of color.”
* -- In another, white men allege that California wildlife bureaucrats featured speakers who said that black people don’t use the outdoors in proportion to their population because of white racism, generational trauma, and a historical fear of lynching.
* -- A lawsuit filed by a 12th-grade biracial student and his African American mother says a Nevada charter school taught that “people of color CANNOT be racist.”
* -- To opponents, the fatal flaw of critical race theory is its factual wrongness. But hovering in the background of these lawsuits is the unresolved question: To what extent does truth provide a defense against charges of discrimination?
* * *
This is uncanny! Do you recall at the start of the 2019 school year, Hamilton County Superintendent Bryan Johnson brought in this charlatan of a guy to speak about racial disparities? So help me, this guy implied some stuff that today’s Critical Race Theory wants us to believe. I fully expected Johnson to get fired, it was so ridiculous, and he forced the entire teaching faculty at the school district to suffer through such torment. The former NFL player - who the NFL had never heard of – spouted unfiltered racism, and Dr. Johnson just loved it. Hello … hello …
The County Commission wanted to talk to him – summoned him to appear --- but the ‘super’ hid for about two months before the groundswell of rage subsided. Since then, he has artfully used his in-office propaganda team to finagle the highest salary of any non-elected public official ever in Chattanooga. And as the Critical Race Theory comes back in our city, it’s the same nag of a horse that still doesn’t stand a chance of credibility. Same horse, just a different name.
Donald Trump was right when he cancelled it; Joe Biden was wrong when he resurrected it. Just ask anyone, black, brown, or white, who has been required to attend a diversity discussion … and to a person they’d prefer a root canal.
royexum@aol.com