Taking a page from the QAnon playbook, the Far-Right's latest talking points are full of defamatory buzzwords like "pedophile" and "groomer." Yes, just when you thought that the "culture wars" currently raging in the United States couldn't get any nastier, they have! Apparently, these Ultra-Conservatives have decided that the most effective way to motivate their base to vote (and appeal to Independent voters) is to attack the "WOKE" establishment's grip on educating our children.
These folks love to talk about how our children are being indoctrinated with Leftist "Woke" ideology. More particularly, they don't like the fact that their children are being taught tolerance for LGBTQ folks and gender affirmation. For them, teacher's and Disney are busy sexualizing young children and making them vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse. Their argument is framed in terms of putting the parents in charge of their children's education. In other words, parents have to protect their innocent children from the harmful ideas being pushed by these "groomer" educators! However, if indoctrination is defined as the process of teaching someone to accept a set of beliefs without exposing them to any alternatives, I think that it's fair to ask "Who's trying to indoctrinate who?"
Never mind that NO ONE is advocating for pedophilia or is trying to convert children to the "gay lifestyle." Never mind that exhibiting love, tolerance, and acceptance for folks who are different from us is widely recognized as being an emotionally and socially healthy/beneficial exercise! Never mind that all children are born with genitalia and their little brains are continually being flooded with hormones, or that sexuality is an integral part of being human! Never mind that LGBTQ folks will always be around, and that things like sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual hygiene/disease, and the morality surrounding issues related to human sexuality are things that confront all of us (including our children). How naive is it to assume that we can "protect" children from these things? How irresponsible is it to ignore these things and act as if they don't exist? Have these folks never heard of "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it?" (See Proverbs 22:6)
Currently, another favorite target of these folks is what they refer to as "Critical Race Theory." Ask them what that means or entails and you're likely to get a blank stare in response, but it does tend to tap into the fears of a bunch of folks that Anglo-Saxon culture and values are under attack. More often than not, this kind of talk manifests itself in the way that issues like slavery and race are talked about in classrooms. Indeed, this is what most of these blimpish politicians are talking about when they refer to their political opponents as being "WOKE." In this connection, you tend to hear things like "I don't want my <white> children to be made to feel like they are responsible for slavery or racial injustice!" In other words, let's not talk about anything that makes us uncomfortable, might contribute to rectifying past injustices, or serve to ameliorate current racial tensions!
I did a Bing search for the term "woke," and it pulled up the following definition: "alert to injustice and discrimination in society, especially racism." What's wrong with that? Didn't Christ say that he wanted his followers to be alert to the needs of the disadvantaged among them? (See Matthew 25:31-45) Didn't Christ instruct his followers to be alert and watchful? (See Matthew 24:42-49) And what was the purpose of the story about the Good Samaritan or the Samaritan woman at the well? (See Luke 10:29-37 and John 4:4-26) Did they have anything to do with prejudice/racism? Didn't James say that Christians should minister to the needs of the disadvantaged among them? (See James 2:16) Didn't John say, "If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?" (See I John 3:17) And aren't all of these sentiments in line with long-established biblical principles? (See Deuteronomy 15:7-11, Proverbs 19:17, Isaiah 58:7-10) Hence, in light of what Scripture says about these things, I would think that the choice between the adjectives "woke" or "blimpish" would be a simple one! What do you think?
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