Post-truth is Pre-Fascism

 

I have just learned that the Indiana House has passed HB1134, and sent it on to the Senate.

<The bill has several components. It lists a series of "divisive concepts" that would be banned from Indiana's public school classrooms, including that any sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, national origin or political affiliation is inherently superior or inferior to another and that any individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish responsibility, or any other form of psychological distress on account of the individual's sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, national origin or political affiliation.

It would allow parents who allege a violation of the ban to file a complaint and, in certain cases, sue schools. The latest version of the bill limits awards to court costs, attorney's fees and damages up to $1,000.

It also allows for the state's secretary of education to suspend or revoke the license of a teacher, principal, superintendent or other employee licensed through the Indiana Department of Education for "willfully or wantonly" violating its provisions around promoting divisive concepts. on to the Senate.

The bill would also require teachers to post materials and activities used in the classroom on websites for parents to inspect and create parent-centered curriculum review committees.> (source given in full below this message.)

Coincidentally, this morning I read an interview with historian Timothy Snyder, author of "On Tyrrany." https://www.vox.com/conversations/2017/3/9/14838088/donald-trump-fascism-europe-history-totalitarianism-post-truth "Post truth is pre-fascism."

According to Snyder, "If a community or country can't hold together horizontally by way of an idea of factuality, then someone comes along vertically with a huge myth, and that person wins."

Here the steps I see Americans taking toward the vertical myth the Republicans are trying to impose on us. (I offer the historical example of the Jews and Nazis; but it could also be applied to other situations, for example,  Blacks and White Supremacists.)  

1) Admit there are cognitive and moral facts (cognitive truths/descriptive statements and moral truths/prescriptive statements).

Example: 1a) Jews are human beings.(descriptive truth)

    1b)  Jews should be able to freely participate in German society. (prescriptive truth)

2) Offer alternative "facts" (alternative cognitive truths); that is, promulgate lies.

Example:  2a) Germans are all clean and healthy,
                  2b) Jews are dirty; they spread lice
                 
3) Reject any link between cognitive truths and moral truths. (That is, play up the "is-ought problem,"and deny any relation between descriptive and prescriptive statements.) Reject moral truths/prescriptive statements; only permit cognitive truths/descriptive statements

Example: permit only propositions 2a-2d; reject proposition 1b

4) Now that you are rid of those pesky traditional moral truths, your program to popularize and impose alternative descriptive truths is free and clear.

Example:   2c) Jews are all money-grubbing, and a threat to small businessmen.

            2d) Jews are all Marxists

            2e)  Jews are subhuman

            2f)  Aryans are the master race
                   etc, as spread through Nazi propaganda: speeches, classrooms, newspapers, children’s books, art, etc.  

5) Once your alternative descriptive truths are established, you can now construct your own new prescriptive truths.

Example:  5a) Jews should be exterminated.

We can see Indiana's own state senator Scott Ballwin furthering step 3) in this video, where he couches the rejection of moral truth by an appeal to "I believe we have gone too far when we take a position on those isms (Marxism, Fascism, Nazism) as it relates to--we need to be impartial!" https://www.indystar.com/videos/news/education/2022/01/06/lawmaker-critical-race-theory/9123616002/

I dread to see how the good people of Indiana might further succumb to the Republican vertical myth; Lord, please deliver them--and the rest of us who are being targeted-- from evil, both cognitive and moral.