Moms for Liberty, a conservative group founded in 2021, aims to reshape public education by taking over school boards and banning books they view as inappropriate. Though new, the strategy of focusing on education issues to advance conservative goals is not novel. The group seeks to influence the 2024 Republican presidential primary and has gained influence within the GOP and conservative movement. While some call Moms for Liberty an extremist group, its members see themselves as protecting families and liberty. However, critics argue the group actually seeks to limit democracy by restricting the rights of those they disagree with.
It’s like no one knows what liberty means anymore
Sounds like it’s time to post that Sartre quote again. It’s about anti-semites, but you know, if the shoe fits…
“Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.”
It seems to be a trend in some political movements to use terms in their name that are the opposite of what they defend:
- Liberty -> wants to restrict others’ liberty
- Popular -> defends the elites
- Voice -> tries to shut you up
- Common -> restricted to an in-group
- Life -> defends deaths
…and so on.
