Editor’s note: The Daily Signal’s audience appreciates the commentary by a nonprofit leader about countering wokeism on her staff. Here’s a sampling of the response on this and our coverage of related issues, from the mailbag at letters@dailysignal.com.—Ken McIntyre
Dear Daily Signal: I just read Grace Daniel’s article on resisting a mutiny by employees of her nonprofit, and found it both fascinating and encouraging (“My Woke Employees Tried to Cancel Me. Here’s How I Fought Back and Saved My Nonprofit.”).
Cancel culture and wokeness are antifactual and destructive. This is an emotional perspective to life that dismisses the human mind’s unique ability to reason and use logic.
Thank you to Grace Daniel for taking the time to write it and share her experience.—Ty B. Kopke
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First, I’m a new learner in this ideologically divisive discourse about being woke, or cancelled for not being so. It’s articles like Grace Daniel’s commentary that help me gain such understanding. It provides a framework to push back intelligently and logically against a culture that attempts to use emotion-based ideas to silence the masses into submission.
A real-life, specific example of a definition of psychological safety would have helped. Daniel wrote about how she and her staff came up with an agreed-upon definition. But she never boiled it down.
However, I really appreciated the materials she recommended. I think they’ll definitely help me get a better understanding so that my discussions with a woke individual won’t evolve into biased identity assassinations.
I want to cogently discuss wokeness, cancel culture, and critical race theory with those who think they “know best” about those issues. I want to be able to refute their specious arguments. Grace Daniel’s article will help me to do just that.—Michael Bogert
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Thank you so much to Grace Daniel for writing about her experience with critical race theory. As a small-town leader of my Nextdoor website, I have faced head-on the indoctrination of critical race theory. My posts on the leader message board are deleted for questioning it, and only posts in favor of it are left up.
As a retired teacher of 32 years, my concern is for my grandchildren’s education in New York City. I’ve enlightened my daughter, who is a PTA president, and have asked her to not let it seep into her school.
So far, so good, but I believe it is coming. They’re already talking about dividing children into “safe spaces” based on identity. Horrifying. I can’t imagine anything worse, yet it is happening.
Thanks for the insight and recommendations to better educate myself on this racist ideology. I would love more details.—Susan Hyzer, Hawley, Pa.
Teaching the New Racism in Schools
Dear Daily Signal: Regarding your coverage of critical race theory in schools (“Why Rep. Chip Roy Aims to Defund Schools That Teach Critical Race Theory”): I’m 74 years old. I’m the product of Christian education. The reason for sending kids to Christian schools is to make sure they are taught well, by God-fearing teachers. Parents have a lot of clout.
I’m sure that a teacher, in my day, who promoted communism, Nazism, or socialism would be replaced. Of course, we learned about these “isms” in civics class.
At great cost, I sent my two children to Christian schools. Today, at great cost, they send their kids to Christian schools. Christian education is more important today than ever before.
Leaders who are against charter schools are in the clutches of teachers unions. Poor people need a good education and they aren’t getting it in many public schools.—Ken Cammenga, Hudsonville, Mich.
Dear Daily Signal: I’m not going to mince words. I am not white. I am a nonwhite immigrant who believes in America, and what I see happening causes dread in my heart.
To me, this anti-white movement is a slow move toward anarchy to disrupt what they perceive America to be, a white nation. But more importantly, to take over this country through tactics not unlike those employed by Hitler.
It’s very much like the path taken by the Nazis to sow division, anger, and suspicion of fellow Germans with the ultimate purpose to gain power. Critical race theory is teaching people to view whites as bad. Nazis did the same thing: Jews were bad and needed to be dealt with.
Getting rid of the police and guns moves them toward disarming a nation, which becomes easier to take over. They want to be the ultimate authority and can’t share it with religious institutions, so God has to go too.
Teaching critical race theory in schools is indoctrination toward a bigger cause. Creating future brown-shirt armies of youth to attack whites. It’s all one big evil package—including The New York Times’ 1619 Project, all revisionist history to raise up fighters for their cause.
If we don’t see the long-term plan, but just look at superficial reasons and effects, we play into their hands. They will exploit the goodness and kindness of our law-abiding nation to achieve their goals.
I pray for our country, which has given so much to the world, which sent our young men to fight wars that were not ours, whose people have such big hearts and are good and kind. I pray, I worry, I hope that our eyes are opened quickly and we take action.—Reva Perkins
Dear Daily Signal: After what Virginia teacher Lilit Vanetsyan told the Loudoun County School Board, she has stepped into the realm of becoming an American hero (“Public School Teacher Warns Parents: Be Afraid of Kids ‘Rooting for Socialism’ by Middle School”).
My family has been in America since the 1630s, having landed in Jamestown, Virginia. I am a patriotic Vietnam veteran (infantry) and a retired U. S. history teacher in a large southeastern Michigan public school district.
In recent decades, I have been appalled at what I read is being taught in public schools to our children, much of which is pure socialist and “one world order” indoctrination. Not to mention racial indoctrination.
My mother taught me: “You can’t make yourself look tall by making someone else look small.” Yet we are now teaching that white people are inherently small, just to make minorities look tall. Hate will never work.
God bless Lilit Vanetsyan. May the Lord bring us more educators just like her.—Robert L. Taylor III
Black America and Defunding Police
Dear Daily Signal: Star Parker’s commentary “The State of Black America” hit a home run. Those who continue to push the racism card at every turn are those that are trying to disrupt our country. They are clearly agitators.
We had an African American president for eight years. A racist country doesn’t do that. We have a black and an Hispanic on the highest court in the land. Congress is flush with representatives and senators of different colors and backgrounds. Same with our courts, mayors, and police. A racist country doesn’t do that.
Do we still have poverty, slums, homelessness? Yes, but those solutions lie within households and communities, not federal politicians and blowhards or Black Lives Matter or career politicians who continue to do little.—Michael Scotto
Dear Daily Signal: In his commentary article on the horrific effects of the “defund the police” movement, Jarrett Stepman notes that many localities are quietly reversing course as fear of violence was seen to undermine the greater liberal project (“Violent Crime Keeps Surging as More on Left Admit It’s Foolish to ‘Defund Police’”).
But I have to wonder if this wasn’t part of the point. Defunded police departments no doubt laid off many experienced and qualified officers. Will they be back?
Will the nut cases in charge of those departments have an incentive to reverse course quickly so they can re-staff the police departments with a new corps of ideologically acceptable officers? Could this have been part of the agenda from the beginning in the perverse imaginations of leftist social engineers?
I hope The Daily Signal explores this possibility in future reporting. I look forward to reading your analysis. —Jacquelyn Soniat, Franklinton, La.
This and That
Dear Daily Signal: True conservatives and Republicans (not the compromising RINOs) need to go on the offensive and put the Democrats on the defensive (“6 Key Points From House Democrats’ Voter Discrimination Hearing”).
There’s an old sports adage that applies here: The best defense is a good offense. In military terms, it would be to mount a counteroffense against the enemy when under attack.
I came across two other articles recently about countries that require photo ID to vote, one at Real Clear Investigations and the other at Townhall. Of 47 nations surveyed in Europe, all but one requires a government-issued photo voter ID to vote.
The Czech Republic and Russia require passports or military-issued IDs, and others use national identity cards. Others go even further: Colombia and Mexico each require a biometric ID to cast a ballot.
Why isn’t anyone talking about these requirements, especially in the European countries? Democrats say Republicans want voter ID laws to suppress the vote and because we’re racists. Republicans need to speak with one voice and put this information out there.
Republicans need to ask Democrats if they think Europeans are trying to suppress the votes in their countries, or if they think the Europeans are racists. No, they just want fair elections, elections that the people can have confidence in.
Perhaps we could copy the European model? Put liberals on the defense; make them justify their position in light of what many other countries around the world require.
The Republican Party needs to do a better job of organizing, drafting positions with supporting facts, and speaking with one, unified voice on the issues at both the federal and state levels. Put the liberals back on their heels and make them explain their “fact free” and sometimes dangerous positions.
The truth will prevail if used correctly, strategically, and forcefully.—Rick Brophy
Dear Daily Signal: How can the Democrats ignore what’s happening at the southern border, as shown in Rachel del Guidice’s video report (“Arizona Sheriff Describes How the Border Has Changed Under Biden”)? They are jeopardizing the safety and security of this country, all for the sake of a power play.
We are letting America slip into a situation we may not be able to solve. Political parties should work together to solve problems, not try to see who can cut the other’s throat.—Arthur Dowling
Dear Daily Signal: It’s time to declare that never again will we cede our rights to the powers that be (“8 Things to Know About Whether COVID-19 Leaked From Chinese Lab”). What started out as a two-week “flatten the curve” shutdown to slow the spread of COVID-19 morphed into a soul-crushing year of nonliving.
Healthy people never again should be quarantined. It is my responsibility to take care of myself. If I have a comorbidity, then I should take actions to protect myself. No one should expect everyone else to stop living to “protect” them.
The year of nonliving isn’t over. There are still many places where restrictions still exist. How many more years of life will be collectively sacrificed to the power-hungry bureaucrats?—Kathy Vanderford, Fountain Inn, S.C.
The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation.