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What is all the big deal about Critical Race Theory? This is not a new theory; it has been around for over 40 years. Why is it an issue now? Yes, all theories are debatable but those should be debated by educators and historians and not politicians like Ted Cruz or Marjorie Taylor Green and people like them. It is an issue now so some white politicians can divide us more and they want to make points with Trump’s base?

Race has always been a hard conversation for this country.  It has consumed our national conscience since before the Civil War. After reviewing the Critical Race Theory the single most factor that would upset a lot of the people is that is encourages us to talk about it and share stories of racism. That would be a hard pill to take when you have people that believe that they are not racist that actually are. I went to school with a guy that said that Trump saying that Mexicans were murderers and rapist was not racist. He was sure that some Mexican somewhere had murdered someone and that he was sure that some Mexican somewhere was a rapist so what Trump said was not racist. We come up with all kinds of mental arguments to justify our racism. I had a neighbor who was born in Costa Rico but has been a US citizen for a very long time. About 10 years ago we were having a conversation and he was upset that while he was walking his dog a car pulled up and told him to go back where he came from. Now my neighbor has probably been a US citizen longer than the people yelling at him had been alive. That didn’t matter, he was not white so he had to go. Those are the conversations that they do not want us to have but as a nation we must. That is the conversation we must have if we want to understand what racism is. How many times have we heard a person say something very racist and then apologize and say they are not a racist. If no one is a racist how do we have racism?

If we think about it the argument that Ted Cruz has that Critical Race Theory is bad because it teaches people to hate their own race is in itself a racist comment. It is a comment to raise the ugly head of racism and divide us by race more. Understanding history will not make one hate their own race. I am white and I strive to understand the history of racism. I do not hate my race. No. I may hate racism but hating a race, even your own is by definition racism.

Racism is something that never really left us after Johnson and the Civil Rights Act. It is in many places just kept hidden. The worst racist when I was growing up were Democrats. Johnson lost the backing of much of his own party when he signed the Civil Rights Bill. Those people left the Democratic Party. Reagan courted those people thinking that they could be controlled. 40 years later racism is a big part of the Republican Party. I voted republican until I saw that racism and bigotry had now become common place in the party. In today’s political climate where Republicans believing Party over Country and take their marching orders from one man, it will be very hard for me to vote for any Republican even if I like the candidate. If all they are going to do is vote the way that Mitch McConnell wants it is like voting for Mitch. I don’t want to vote for Mitch, I want to vote for someone that wants to solve problems not one that ignores them. I do not want to vote for someone that would rather ignore racism than solve racism which I believe will destroy our country.

I grew up watching the protests and race riots of the 60’s. I am now in my 60’s and I am still watching the race protests and race violence and this is 60 years later. It would appear that we have not made any progress but we really have. Many of the symbols of racism of the 60’s like white’s only drinking fountains and lunch counters are gone from view. The problem is that they many of the symbols have gone from view but they have not gone from people’s minds and hearts. The instruments that fought against racism in the 60’s like the church are no longer marching at the front of the line. In some cases they are feeding fuel to the fire. Until we start electing politicians that truly believe in the first three words of the constitution, WE THE PEOPLE, we will continue on the road to the America’s version of Apartheid. How we teach about racism is not the problem. The fact that we still do not want to engage in the conversation is.

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