Organizations like the National Institute of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are now utilizing Critical Race Theory (CRT) to link transgenerational trauma—and the structural systems of oppression that cause it—to a myriad of measurable life-shortening health issues no longer attributable to debunked genetic claims of race.
The significance of these findings, once fully comprehended, will be transformative; they scientifically verify both the existence and essentiality of individual Liberty, by enumerating the toxic effects of suppressing It.
Liberty can now be tied to the physical and mental/emotional health of each citizen, transforming healthcare into a reciprocal obligation that must be proactively conferred upon everyone. This will similarly affect our system of Justice, which also operates after individual liberty has already been compromised. Liberty itself must also be reevaluated; currently the Liberty of the few is secured at the expense of the many, making It more of a scarce resource than an unalienable right, as originally promised.
Critical theories utilize critical thinking to ‘critique’ societal institutions; without such a mechanism, people basically have no recourse to improve the larger operating systems that sustain them. CRT replaces isolating dogma about race with inclusive arguments of intersectionality (meaning oppression is not ‘personal’ but ‘intersects’ all of society); seen this way, CRT unifies us, not divides us, as some would claim.
Cognitive Dissonance is the “mental discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs…People attempt to relieve this…by rejecting, explaining away, or avoiding new information.” (Very Well Mind) America is currently in a perpetual state of cognitive dissonance; CRT is not here to widen this chasm, but instead construct a bridge across it.
Critical Race Theory (CRT) feels threatening because it is misunderstood; it is misunderstood because those currently in control want you to misunderstand it. They want you to misunderstand it because it is threatening to them—and only to them. The good news is that those who it does threaten are not on anyone’s side but their own; there is no need to create a human shield in front of them and continue to suffer for their cause. In The Third Option solution, everyone wins anyway, even the wealthy; those rich cats have nine lives and will always land on their feet; no need to feel badly for them. Let’s take care of everyone else for a change.
In a consumerist version of reality, even Liberty becomes a scarce resource; currently, more and more people have been unable to afford It. Once we decided to put a price tag on Liberty, we began heading down a dead-end road. The true definition of Liberty—and the only kind that government can truly secure—is to ensure each citizen has freedom of opportunity; the ability to freely enrich oneself spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically, and be the best version of themselves. Self-control and self-mastery must replace the control and mastery of others. Now would be a good time to make the transition toward a sustainable version of Liberty.
What is CRT?
As an analogy, Critical Race Theory is simply telling us that some cars are white, and some are black or gray or silver, but all basically run the same—they are ‘equally created’—it is how each vehicle is driven and cared for that determines how long it will last. It’s the same with people: their health depends upon the amount of strain they must endure. Sometimes we love our things and use our people; The Third Option believes we must reverse this oppressive trend if we are to endure as a Democracy.
In current post-civil rights racial justice, four theories exist: Traditionalists (like Clarence Thomas) “believe the best way forward is with a clean slate,” Reformists (like Cornel West) believe government should address inequities in “housing, food, health care and education,” Limited Separatists (do-it-yourselfers like Geoffrey Canada of the Harlem Children’s Zone) request only some initial government ‘seed capital,’ and critical race theorists (like Kimberlé Crenshaw) offer a new foundation of understanding about how societal power structures affect all of us, from health care to climate change. Critical theory has yet to offer a “clear roadmap to political action” (or praxis), but The Third Option has applied CRT toward solutions that prove all theories to be correct, not by seeking some middle ground, but through reevaluating Liberty based on the more sustainable resource of equal opportunity.
Fashioning quality legislation is not difficult; We the People only need to look back at the (very few) times legislators ‘got it right.’ The G.I. Bill, for example, helped veterans returning from war receive education, low-interest housing loans, and health and unemployment insurance. In 1944, however, black veterans were not included in this program. The Social Security Act, signed in 1935, gave working Americans a method to save their hard-earned pay for when they reached retirement age. This program also left out people at first; even so, programs like the G.I. Bill and Social Security handed out opportunity, so people could help themselves; they empowered Liberty. They met the people halfway. The Third Option plan does the same.
The Third Option supports CRT because it is a theory for all people who have felt the oppression of a system that has not supported them, protected them, recognized them, appreciated them, or understood them. The Third Option only seeks to practice what CRT preaches.
Third Option Lobbies Government for Chance to Test New Democratic Theory