Political Irony

I have nothing to add to this. When did we all in America become so stupid?

I swear, you can’t possibly make shit like this up. According to The Guardian, Florida has rejected “54 math textbooks because they contain ‘prohibited topics’ including Critical Race Theory” (CRT).

Last year, Florida banned the teaching of CRT in public schools. In response, many people pointed out that CRT has never been taught in any public schools (it has only been a subject in some universities). In order to justify their actions they are making up examples of CRT and banning some textbooks.

But math textbooks? Why would any math textbook have anything about race in it? Maybe a computer textbook talking about “race conditions”, or a physics textbook talking about “black body radiation”, but those don’t have anything to do with CRT.

In the novel 1984, George Orwell coined the term doublethink, which requires people to accept two conflicting beliefs as truth, despite them contradicting each other, their own memory, or even their reality. In the book, people accept doublethink due to peer pressure, to “fit in”, or to be accepted as a loyal Party Member. Sound familiar?

In order to be a member of the Republican Party, politicians have to accept the doublethink that Trump won the 2020 election, and that evil Democrats are forcing schools to teach CRT. Any contradiction with the party line is akin to blasphemy, and will get the politician instant social disapproval, or even primaried. Even if they know it is a lie, they have to repeat the lie over and over.

I usually take a very dim view when celebrities try to stick their noses and personal views into politics, especially celebrities who are famous mainly because they are actors. But two separate things happened today that totally surprised me.

The first was Arnold Schwarzenegger posting a video to Twitter (and other social media channels). Yes, I realize that Schwarzenegger is mainly famous as an actor, but he was also the Republican governor of California, which might give him credibility to speak about politics, but the main reason he was elected was because he was a celebrity actor, and in the end he wasn’t a particularly good politician.

But he did something amazing today, posting a personal and heartfelt message to the people and soldiers of Russia to help stop the war against Ukraine. Many people in Russia love him, and grew up watching his movies. I’d like to think that this might be able to cut through Putin’s propaganda. Maybe only a little, but every bit helps.

Many reposts of this video have shortened it, but the whole thing is only 9 minutes long and is definitely worth it:

The second thing that happened today is in some ways the opposite of the first. [Spoiler alert!] Today was the season finale of Star Trek: Discovery, and (once again) they have saved the galaxy. At the end, they greet the President of United Earth, who is played by politician Stacey Abrams, an amazing advocate for voting rights and currently running for governor of Georgia. It turns out that Abrams is not just a politician (who is widely credited with flipping Georgia for the Democrats in the 2020 election), she is an avid Star Trek fan, has written several novels, and acted in and directed plays in high school and college. She has also talked extensively about how Star Trek has shaped her perspective. Who better to play the leader of a United Earth?

Here’s the entire scene with Abrams:

Someone out there should start making T-shirts and buttons saying “Stacey Abrams for President of United Earth” — let’s get to it!