Your columnist, Jonathan Kraut, uses Fox News’ mischaracterization of Critical Race Theory (among other concepts) to characterize Fox News as a media organization that is intent on fanning the flames of fear and hate in its viewers — those who believe in God, country, and the American way.
According to Fox News, liberals don’t believe in any of those things, and that is why they should be feared and hated and fought on every street corner until the pestilence that they are is finally eradicated and life in America goes back to “normal.” According to Fox News it is liberalism that is the real pandemic and Fox News is the only provider of the vaccine against them. Watch Fox News and know your enemy.
I have only one question for Mr. Kraut: Has he ever watched CNN? I have, and I can say that that road goes in both directions. Fox News and CNN are equal opposites on many levels — and they can both be equally absurd.
Before I write anything I do my best to throw a mental net wide enough to cover most perspectives, and it can be a stretch. But there’s no point in having a conversation with anyone if you’re unwilling to understand where they’re coming from, to truly sympathize with them.
I’m also an avid history buff — I love history, which is what Critical Race Theory actually is. If you read enough history you will become an expert in CRT (and you might be able to fix old television sets, too). It might benefit Kraut to advance from the level of a mere “Democratic Voice,” as he is characterized by The Signal, to the level of “Balanced Voice.”
The balanced voice is not handicapped by its personal biases and is thus less prone to being resisted by those who might have an opposing bias. I think that would be helpful to someone like Kraut when sharing his opinions in a newspaper like The Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
Furthermore, if Kraut himself read enough history, then he would understand exactly why organizations like Fox News exist and flourish, and instead of wasting his breath attacking them he could do something productive like trying to prove that they are wrong (which he hasn’t).
Now that would be really impressive.
Arthur Saginian
Santa Clarita
