Ron DeInsensitve desensitizes history as he continues to define himself. With every policy statement, decision, proposal, or new law, he makes it painfully clear that he is unqualified to lead our nation and represent the interests of all our citizens.
The two-term governor, who squeaked out his first victory over Andrew Gillum, a disgraced, then exonerated opponent (victim of a timely Republican smear campaign?), has become the absolute king of finding cruel solutions in search of problems that don’t exist.
Desperate to remain relevant, DeSantis has taken on Mickey Mouse and Disney over gay rights, implemented a ban on abortion after 6 weeks of pregnancy, banned books that don’t adhere to his DeSanitized version of black or gay history, and boycotted Budweiser over transgender issues.
He’s now embroiled in a dispute with Vice President Kamala Harris over Florida’s new standards for teaching black history in its middle schools, DeSantis has taken his racist rhetoric to new lows. He recently defended his new standards for teaching black history in Florida middle schools. Here’s what he said:
Enslaved people ‘developed skills’ during slavery that ‘could be applied for their personal benefit.’
How anyone, Republican or Democrat, could choose these words to sugarcoat the atrocities of slavery in America, boggles the mind. We have always been presented with a somewhat sanitized version of history when it comes to slavery, but DeSantis takes this deception to unprecedented low levels. Vice President Harris had this to say about DeSantis’ remarks:
“How is it that anyone could suggest that in the midst of these atrocities that there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?”
DeSantis’ battle with “woke,” a term he uses incorrectly, has been one of the cornerstones of his pro-white Christian, anti-minority, national agenda. Like the infamous Donald Trump before him, he uses race, gender, sexual orientation, and religion-baiting buzzwords to rile up the bigoted base of the Republican Party. Remember “good people on both sides?”
Why don’t more common-sense Republicans push back on these issues and statements? Why can’t the party return to its roots of smaller government and lower taxes for rich people? While Ronald Reagan’s trickle-down theories have never proven successful to a broad constituency (and have blown up the deficit), they did not result in name-calling, race bating, and division. The answer, obviously, is that DeSantis represents the “new” intolerant, and, yes, bigoted, Republican Party.
Here’s an idea for politicians and schools going forward: Whether a subject is controversial or not, whether it exposes some of America’s faults or policy inconsistencies of the past, let’s tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. No one wants a sanitized, fictional version of history.
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