California profs call opponents of progressive propaganda in public schools 'white nationalists,' 'religious zealots'

Two California college professors wrote an opinion piece on July 4, that accuses people opposed to teaching politically progressive content in public schools of being “white nationalists” and “religious zealots.”

The piece, titled, “Progressive Patriotism,” was published in Common Dreams, a progressive online outlet founded in 1997.

“[T]he growing efforts by white nationalists and religious zealots to ban the teaching about Black and LGBTQ lives and history in our public schools are backlashes against previous civil rights and LGBTQ victories,” professors Peter Dreier from Occidental College and Dick Flacks from UC Santa Barbara wrote.

Dreier a politics professor at Occidental College, and Flacks, a sociology professor at the University of California Santa Barbara focus on different ideologies, presidents, and historical figures’ approaches to patriotism in their article.

In the piece, the duo provides a morale booster for progressives and encourages electing progressives to “thwart right-wing assaults on our democracy.”

“Throughout American history, progressive movement had won major victories and also experienced setbacks [sic],” they wrote. “But our history also teaches us that we can’t give up, because we must keep the struggle alive for a new generation.”

Dreier and Flacks took aim at the “Republican-dominated Supreme Court” for their recent rulings on abortion, affirmative action, student loan forgiveness and other issues,” calling them “disheartening.” 

“It is important to see these setbacks as part of a reactionary backlash against early progressive victories,” they wrote. “They [sic] reactionaries can try to push back, but they can’t erase or nullify those victories.”

[RELATED: Professor admits American flag makes him ‘anxious’ during Flag Day interview]

“For progressives, dissent and protest are patriotic,” the duo wrote. “This year, they can express their patriotism by walking a picket line with striking hotel workers, writers, actors, Starbucks baristas, and journalists at 50 Gannett newspapers.”

The professors go on to accuse recent Republican presidents and the Supreme Court of “suppressing dissent,” having “cult followers” and “thwarting progress.”

“Former President George W. Bush questioned the patriotism of anyone who challenged his war on terrorism,” they wrote. “He introduced the Patriot Act to codify this view, giving the government new powers to suppress dissent.”

The article claimed former President Donald Trump fetishized the American flag and had an “insistence that patriotism is about fealty to one man and his government.”

“As president, Trump would often fetishize the American flag, other American symbols, and the concept of patriotism broadly while displaying a shallow, ahistorical, and sometimes downright bizarre understanding of what they meant,” they wrote. 

[RELATED: Prof claims American patriotism is ‘drenched in whiteness’]

“Once, at a campaign rally in Tampa, as his cult followers chanted ‘build that wall,’ Trump interrupted his speech to give a bear hug to an American flag on the stage behind him — apparently as a way to demonstrate his patriotism,” they continued.

Dreier and Flacks claimed that for Trump and his supporters, the American flag is synonymous with “America First,” defining the term as “deporting undocumented immigrants and caging their children in detention centers, restricting visitors from Muslim countries, withdrawing from the Paris climate accord and other international agreements, and engaging in friendships with likeminded dictators.”

Campus Reform has reached out to all relevant parties for comment, this article will be updated accordingly.