Trump started it. He was a fool who stumbled into the presidency after doing everything he could to lose that first election. He mocked the disabled. He treated women as objects. He belittled heroes. His racism was on full view. He couldn’t put a sentence together that made sense. He was a consummate liar. His ego was insatiable. His lack of knowledge was stunning. But here’s the lesson that autocrats and bigots learned well. There were a lot of people like Trump. And he granted them permission to be just like him. Put a nice slogan on a hat and they were his for the bidding—until even they had enough of the chaos. But not his policies.
People with political aspirations of their own were watching. And learning.
Now imagine someone smart. Someone who saw the electorate as malleable, who supported and gloried in the restrictive policies Trump espoused. Someone who understood Trump’s electorate even better than Trump. He would do what Trump attempted, but he would do it better. He would use the power of the state to impose restrictions in support of culture wars that would endear him to Trump’s base.
Well, there’s no need to imagine. The governor of Florida is a smarter, meaner, power hungry version of Trump. And he’s much more dangerous.
At his second inauguration, Ron DeSantis declared he was now governor of the “Free State of Florida.” He proudly announced that under his watch, “Florida is now where ‘woke’ goes to die.” Based on the governor’s recent actions, it appears that the “free state of Florida” is free only when the people, policies and practices agree with the governor’s. He took command of Trump’s culture wars, expanded them and put their concepts into law.
Definitions seem to be in order.
The governor appears to have a problem understanding the concept of “free.” According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “free” is defined as the “absence of necessity, coercion or constraint in choice or action and not under the control of another.”
Perhaps if the governor’s education had been more well-rounded (dare I say woke?) to include a more complete history of the United States and the study of its Constitution, he might have learned that this nation doesn’t support personal freedoms for some while denying others theirs.
DeSantis proudly announced that “woke” policies will not be tolerated in his “free” state. Like the proverbial dragon-killer, DeSantis mounted his horse—a white horse of course—to slay the monster, “woke.” That word, now ubiquitous, needs defining as well. According to DeSantis’s general council Ryan Newman, as reported by The Washington Post, “woke” is “the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and a need to address them.” So identifying and correcting wrongs is now forbidden. DeSantis’s communication director, Taryn Fenske, said “woke” is a slang term for progressive activism. So how is progressive activism defined? According to Wikipedia.org, progressivism “… represents the interests of ordinary people through political change and the support of governmental actions.”
So there you have it. Pretty scary stuff—all those “progressives” working to enhance policies for ordinary people. Turns out the freedoms of public school teachers, medical care providers, dissidents, owners of private businesses, local governments, librarians, women, students, Blacks, college professors, state attorneys, to name a few, are threatened if their actions are contrary to the governor’s array of new “anti-woke” laws.
Here’s what DeSantis used as examples of “woke,” as noted by The Washington Post and others:
• The NCAA, for saying it would not hold events in states that passed laws governing participation of trans athletes in sports programs.
• Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, for expressing opposition to certain Israeli policies (bet the governor has never tried ‘Phish Food’).
• “Woke” corporations in general, and Disney in particular for daring to oppose legislation that restricts mentioning same-sex relationships.
• Certain math books, for purportedly using “critical race theory” in problems.
• The ability of local authorities to make decisions about everything from health practices to school curriculum.
• His anti-immigration actions reached the nadir of hard-heartedness when he transported immigrants, legally seeking asylum, from Texas to Florida and then to Martha’s Vineyard using taxpayer dollars for his, “Look at me.I’m running for President” stunt.
• DeSantis signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and labeled those who opposed the bill as pro-pedophilia. His press secretary labeled them “groomers.” This is one more example of DeSantis’s “culture wars,” aimed to intimidate, divide and conquer.
• The “free state of Florida,” or more accurately, the “free to die state,” is epitomized by DeSantis’s disdain for vaccinations and the right of local decision makers to make health decisions based on local needs.
• Book and curriculum bans are methods of thought control and indoctrination and they are alive and well in “The Free State of Florida.” Critical thinking, LGBTQ individuals and communities, and Black history are all under attack.
• His goal seems to be the destruction of public education. He wants to increase the voucher system which takes money away from public schools and puts it in “schools” with uncertified teachers, unqualified administrators, and unvetted curriculum.
Florida has become DeSantis’s laboratory for autocracy. With the zombielike support of the Republican Legislature, DeSantis is testing the public to see just how far he can go with his “anti-woke” agenda.
It’s time the voters, in Florida and nationwide, truly understood that what is happening here, applied nationally, will mark the end of freedom as we know it.
It’s time we woke.
Marsha Shearer is a resident of The Villages and the author of “America in Crisis: Essays on the Failed Presidency of Donald J. Trump.”
