Dispatches From the Culture Wars – June 20, 2023
- Morale in the Workplace
- Fear, Violence and MAGA
- The Fight Over Education
- Biden’s Faulty Take on Antisemitism
- Onward Christian Soldiers
- Psychology Polarized
- Can MDMA Cure Race Hate?
- Healthcare and Dobbs
- Dark Money in a Nonprofit
- How Floridians Cope
By Lindsay Ellis
Wall Street Journal
More and more Americans aren’t feeling great at work. Half of workers aren’t engaged on the job, putting in minimal effort to get by, according to research by Gallup. Employee engagement, a measure of involvement and enthusiasm at work, declined for the second year in a row. There is also a growing share of the workforce that is disengaged, or resentful that their needs aren’t being met.
By Chauncey DeVega
Salon
We must be very careful not to infer that the dangers of violence and terrorism from the Trumpists and other members of the white right and neofascist movement are somehow diminished or spent – when, in fact, such an incorrect conclusion is exactly what such malign actors desire.
The Fight Over Education
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The Politics of Fascist Education By Henry Giroux, CounterPunch
- Educators Nationwide Pledge to Teach Truth By WORDINBLACK.COM, The Sacramento Observer
- Hip-Hop and Education By Toby Jenkins, Yes!
- LGBTQ Students Are Scared of School By Beth Hawkins, The 74
- Florida College Board AP Draws a Line By Shruti Rajkumar, Huffpost
Biden’s Faulty Take on Antisemitism
By Donna Nevel
Truthout
A White House strategic plan on combatting antisemitism was recently released. At a briefing hosted by the White House and the Anti-Defamation League, the speakers reaffirmed the dangerous view that opposing Israeli apartheid and Zionism falls into the category of antisemitism. This view is echoed in the White House plan.
- Coming For the Enemies of God By Frederick Clarkson, Salon
- Christian Nationalism in Canada By Jonathan Montpetit, CBC
By J Oliver Conroy
The Guardian
The chain of events that followed a graduate psychology class has torn the insular world of psychoanalysis into bitter factions; sparked legal petitions, counter-petitions, investigations, ethics complaints, disinvitations, resignations, death threats and accusations of libel; and led the president of the United States’ preeminent psychoanalytic association to step down.
By Rachel Newer
BBC
MDMA – and other psychedelics-assisted therapy – could transform the field of mental health through widespread clinical use in the US and beyond, for addressing trauma and possibly other conditions as well. Some researchers have begun to wonder if it could be an effective tool for pushing people who are already somehow primed to reconsider their ideology toward a new way of seeing things.
By Julie Rovner
KFF Health News
The rush in conservative states to ban abortion after the overturn of Roe v. Wade is resulting in a startling consequence that abortion opponents may not have considered: fewer medical services available for all women living in those states.
By Daniel Boguslaw
The Intercept
The Documentary Foundation, a tax-exempt nonprofit, received millions of dollars, including hundreds of thousands in untraceable cash, at the same time that it propped up a new right-wing media venture.
By Talib Visram
Fast Company
Sometimes, the resistance comes in the form of teachers simply conducting their classes as normal. High school history teacher Brandt Robinson has no plans to alter his lessons or methods. His world history class touches on African history, including the transatlantic slave trade and the Middle Passage.