Letters

My appreciation for the kind words from John Porta [“Circus Act,” Letters, December 4], and my Sag Harbor friend [“No Boogeyman,” Letters, November 25], regarding my comments on the Carlos Sandoval column discussing critical race theory [“The Ballot And The Boogeyman,” Vistas, Opinion, November 11].

However, I was also referred to in John Neely’s rebuttal [“They Should Know,” Letters, December 4] and would like to clean up a few points.

Mr. Neely argues I was ill-informed and incorrect in inferring that the CRT curriculum was being used in our local schools. He may be correct that it is not, but my remarks were confined to the general support that Mr. Sandoval advocated and not a local matter.

Mr. Neely and I can and do agree that our American history is fraught with episodes of violence, racism and lawlessness that are a stain on America’s past.

Critical race theory does not teach equality or justice. Instead, it categorizes people — in this case, our children. Gender, race or sexual orientation divides them as the oppressed or the oppressor. The misguided use of this form of original sin is damaging to an innocent child who will trust its authenticity. This brainwashing will leave them vulnerable to manipulation as they grow up.

Young adults, even now, in universities where they should have developed critical thinking skills are ridiculed by their professors and classmates if they question the CRT doctrine. Qualified speakers with contrasting views are routinely denied access to universities. This denial of open debate is undermining our constitutional right to freedom of expression and is emblematic of the fascism of the left.

Our history has not been without its pitfalls, and we all must learn from them. But the underlying purpose of CRT suggests a uniformity of thought that removes the awareness of other possibilities. Indeed, implied utopian fantasies suggested by proponents of the left are false promises.

If anything is historically true, we have learned that the “-isms” that follow these reformers are ultimately authoritarian. They seek not truth, goodness or justice but impose yet another form of subjugation, and the genius of the American experiment may be lost, possibly forever.

Ed Surgan

Westhampton