The Miseducation of Florida (This Time)
Issue 75
Some of our fellow Americans on the Florida State Senate Education Committee advanced a bill last week called Individual Freedom. Six Republicans voted in support; three Democrats voted against. In a week that was otherwise saturated with juicy domestic and international political stories, this conscious politics practitioner homed in on “Individual Freedom” because it screams of conscious politics malpractice — also known as an excellent opportunity to see how the new consciousness we espouse here could infuse the sausage-making in some (red) state politics. Happy Sunday!
As reported, the legislation would prohibit individuals from making people "feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin." That right there is a conscious politics non-starter because, say it with me: no person can make another person feel anything at all. Ever. It just doesn’t work that way. To live consciously is to take responsibility for what shows up in our lives and go from there, not ever blaming anyone for anything, least of all our feelings. Officeholders of the conscious variety would not allow this legislation to proceed based on that right there.
Another glaring example of conscious politics malpractice that undergirds this legislation is the rank unwillingness of some Americans to simply listen to some other Americans — a huge part of what being compassionate is all about. The legislation is of a piece with Republican alarm throughout the nation about something called critical race theory (CRT), their interpretation of which is: “America is an irreparably racist nation built on racist institutions upheld by racist people.” That’s their right, of course, to interpret as they will. Indeed, each of us is only ever interpreting things based on who we are, what we want, and what we believe — whether or not our interpretations are correct. But Republicans pile on to this interpretation by claiming that they are being accused of something so awful they must legislate to protect themselves. If only someone could tell them it’s not about them.
Nobody on Team Make America Work for Everyone interprets CRT this way. If we know, for example, that “US courts give more lenient punishments to drug dealers from some races than to drug dealers of other races,” we know right there that society is not working the same for everyone. If we want equality, we will listen intently to those who experience inequality because that’s what compassion does. We would ask how and why any racial inequalities persist for Black and other non-White Americans in spite of the laws we have. Broadly speaking, CRT answers these questions with decades of research and analysis by scholars and activists across multiple disciplines in colleges, law schools, and other post-graduate institutions. For people who do not experience racism to screech and squeal about how such study makes them feel bad — because they refuse to listen — is to lay bare the reality that a certain amount of old consciousness in our society is going to remain where it is and I, for one, am not going to waste any time arguing with it.
For people who do not experience racism to screech and squeal about how such study makes them feel bad — because they refuse to listen — is to lay bare the reality that a certain amount of old consciousness in our society is going to remain where it is.
Meanwhile, please note that CRT has not been and is not currently taught in K-12 public schools in any state in America including Florida. So the legislation is literally constructed atop a lie — infused with disingenuousness and devoid of integrity — another glaring example of conscious politics malpractice undergirding this law.
But hear this now today: the power to make change and progress on this issue lies in the responses of those who oppose this law. The pitfall is responding to old consciousness with more old consciousness, with something far more meh than what a conscious politics response could be. “Democrats warn the legislation opens up businesses to a new kind of lawsuit” is one example. Generic. Yawn. The ACLU of Florida said, "Historical erasure and state censorship are a threat to everyone. This proposal is part of a new nationwide attempt to erase the history and lived experiences of marginalized communities.” We know. It also said, “Legislators should not interfere with a student or employee’s right to receive an inclusive education just because certain aspects of our history make some people uncomfortable.” Yes, of course, but they did. Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Democrat and the only Black person on the panel said, “We are responsible for our future in ensuring that what happened back then never happens again. We can’t get there by hiding the truth, we get there by exposing it.” Agreed. And yet. It’s all a typical back-and-forth, we’re right/you’re wrong stale, stalled “debate” dynamic.
What’s required to change the dynamic is shifting and elevating the conversation starting with talking about what’s wanted. All of us who oppose this legislation could start every conversation about it with, “As someone who champions an America that works for everyone…” and go from there. We could talk incessantly, with regard to this law, about what take responsibility means and how no other human being can make another human being feel anything. We could talk incessantly, with regard to this law, about how we cannot ever have a society that works for everyone if we are not willing to listen to everyone. We could talk incessantly, with regard to this law, about the folly of building anything, ever, anywhere, on a lie.
In doing so, those of us who envision an America that works for everyone place the burden on those who would support this legislation to talk about the kind of society they envision. The burden would be on them to explain how it works that others can make them feel anything. The burden would be on them to defend their rank unwillingness to listen. The burden would be on them to defend legislating on a lie.
This is what shifts and elevates political conversations today. This is what changes dynamics of issues. This is conscious politics.
Well said, Steven. Unfortunately, I'm afraid Florida is a lsot cause.