I have spent a lot of time and energy over the years trying to define what wokeness means, both in theory and practice. The more cynical, and probably realistic, approach is to say it is any idea Ron DeSantis dislikes. Fighting wokeness as he defines it is consequently the centerpiece of his campaign.
There are four threads of anti-wokeness, only two of which have deep roots in American thought and culture. The third has only been around for a decade or so, the fourth basically was invented by DeSantis. Here is the list:
- RACIAL WOKENESS: The battle over racial wokeness revolves around the concept of systemic racism. To the woke, and to many who aren’t woke, it is impossible to look at the discrepancy of a myriad of outcomes for white and black people in this country and find a cause other than an embedded form of racism. To DeSantis and the right, however, no such thing exists. Yes, there were a few unfortunate blips in our country’s history, but they were overcome during the Civil Rights Movement, and since then, blacks and whites have been on a completely equal footing. Any discrepancy of outcomes can be accounted for by bad, paternalistic government policy which encourages black people to lounge in the hammock of dependency. Since racial preferences were probably never necessary, and certainly aren’t necessary now, they should be banned. Anyone who says otherwise is the real racist.
- GENDER WOKENESS: There are a variety of different kinds of thought here, some of which can actually come into conflict, but the ultimate target is the same: the social and economic dominance of cisgender males. Feminists revolt solely against this dominance, whereas the LGBTQ community increasingly rejects the entire notion of sexual “normality” and insists that historical support for heterosexual behavior is solely a misguided cultural and political construct. DeSantis and the right support traditional ideas of gender and sexual behavior and seek to stamp out everything else. This involves actions directed both at government and private sector actors, such as doctors and Disney.
- CLIMATE CHANGE WOKENESS: Climate change, in the eyes of the right, is a hoax that was devised to give the left a pretext to use the government to compel real Americans to change their cherished way of life. It is the thin edge of the socialist wedge, and its impacts will be felt mainly by rural Americans who eat lots of meat and rely heavily on their cars. In other words, cars and fossil fuels are freedom and prosperity; public transportation is a mechanism of social control. The target here, for the right, is both government at all levels and “woke capital” which seeks to mitigate climate change impacts and expedite the transition to clean energy.
- PUBLIC HEALTH WOKENESS: This one was invented by DeSantis. In his telling, all public health mandates are invented by the woke, elitist left in order to restrict the economic and religious freedom of real Americans who rely on right-wing web sites and Fox News for medical advice. Both governments and businesses should be prohibited from imposing any such mandates. If people die as a result, well, give me liberty or give me death! I can tolerate the result either way.
In my next post on anti-wokeness, I will discuss DeSantis’ argument that wokeness, as he defines it, is a form of “cultural Marxism.” Following that, I will analyze what a DeSantis presidency might mean for the private actors at the center of the battle, including left-wing intellectuals, the MSM, Hollywood, and academia.