In 2009 Chris Hedges published a Pulitzer Prize winning work entitled “Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle.” Attracted to the work by my belief that our culture was indeed in decline, I nevertheless felt Hedges’ explanation was extremely simplistic. A Leftist, he attributed that decline to Free Market Capitalism, to the greed of Corporate America which found it could profit billions by appealing to the lower instincts of the consuming public. Hence, for example, a Celebrity Culture rooted more in outlandish behaviour and the exploitation of sexuality than in anything of substance. Hence the emergence of Drag Competitions or Reality Shows which have absolutely nothing to do with Reality! How amazing were the wonderful films of the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s, many of which were made by brilliant Jewish writers, directors and producers, in contrast to the drivel that fills our theatres and T.V. screens today, much of which is designed to appeal to those with the mind of a twelve year old. Hedges attributes the success of such drivel to the intellectual decline of the general public, a decline he rightfully ascribes to the failure of contemporary Western Educators to produce students committed to the fundamental value of Rational Critical Thought. Yet in suggesting that failure to be the result of our schools selling out to Corporate America, he simply ignores the brazen assault on Human Intelligence and Achievement wrought by the contemporary Inclusive, Left, a sector that is ironically championed by “intellectuals” who no longer respect Human Intelligence!
Critical Race Theory is central to the assault on Western Civilization presently being waged by the “progressive” Left. Google it and you will find the following definition: Critical Race Theory is an academic framework that examines how racism is embedded in laws, policies, and institutions, arguing that racism is not just individual prejudice but a systemic problem.
A perfectly accurate definition, it reveals the manner in which various “intellectuals” since the 70s have sought to demonize Western Civilization by insisting that the Rational World-View born of The European Enlightenment was nothing more than the product of a peculiar White bias. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, Leftist John Ralston Saul spends an entire chapter in “Voltaire’s Bastards” denigrating Reason as a vehicle to genuine human progress. To CRT devotees such as Ibram X. Kendi, therefore, the teaching of that Rational Critical Thought so revered by Hedges, is actually a form of Racism! Included in this indictment are disciplines such as Math and Science which are apparently of no absolute value! While it is impossible to exhaust so complex a subject here, a few examples of the inanity that has come to infiltrate our institutions of learning may serve to make my point.
Aleysha Ortiz is a Puerto Rican girl who has sued the Hartford Board of Education for graduating her with honours from high school while she is barely able to read or write! Having language problems from the very beginning due to her nationality, Aleysha is also burdened with dyslexia. While her School Board no doubt saw its treatment of her as an act of compassion, she, much to her credit, is not interested in their gift and is indeed appalled that she is utterly unprepared to meet the basic demands of life in the real world.
Aleysha, with scholarships in hand, has been accepted by the U. of Connecticut. While it may seem insane that a self-declared illiterate should be so endowed, a Newsweek article explains that the University in question prides its “holistic approach” to admissions, taking into account much more than just the academic achievements of its applicants in seeking to establish a “diverse student body” and “inclusive community!” Put as simply as possible, the Inclusive Left doesn’t care about Academic Standards!
Here in Canada, an Ontario judge ruled in 2021 that inasmuch as people of Colour tend to score lower than Whites on math tests, mathematical competence ought not to be a consideration in the hiring of teachers. In Nov. of 2023, fortunately, a Court of Appeals overruled that decision, declaring there was nothing racist about the defence of objective academic standards. What is worrisome is the fact that this issue was even considered in the first place! Even more troubling, however, was an article published by True North on Feb. 1 of this year which revealed that a survey of 10 Canadian Universities conducted by The Aristotle Foundation, a think tank focused on public policy, found that of the 489 jobs advertised by those institutions, 477 of them entailed various D.E.I. requirements! This is quite literally absurd!
In Dec. of 2023, The N.Y. Times reported that approximately 80% of all Yale students had been given A.s or A minuses for their academic achievements in 2022-23. Such a statistic would have been impossible in the 70s, the decade of my post-graduate studies, when only the very best of students were so rewarded. Our question here, of course, is whether this development is the result of any legitimate academic progress or but another aspect of the general decline in standards wrought by the Left’s obsession with D.E.I., an obsession that has ludicrously led it to discard Rational Critical Thought as but a White Western Bias, though without it both Human Progress and indeed even meaningful Human Dialogue are literally impossible?