One of the ways Critical Theory penetrated various areas of U.S. society to become Critical Race Theory and Social Justice movements is through the implementation of Social Role Valorization (SRV) throughout behavioral health, human services and education via training and funding. Those outside of those areas may not be familiar with SRV.
Below is a brief recap of the basics of socialist/Marxist, Critical Theory (CT) and its early days before these underpinnings re-emerged in the form of SRV. I worked in behavioral health and human services for 30+ years and experienced these changes firsthand.
Seven Basic Components of Critical Theory:
Below are the seven basic components of critical theory, which has its origins in the Frankfurt School and is condensed in these seven points by Andrew Sandlin.
1. We must analyze the social forces behind every act and event.
2. We must see the act or event from its past, present, and future perspectives to really know it.
3. Reality is evolving, always in motion, and conflict creates and stimulates this evolution.
4. Moral standards are dialectical. Through conflict, they change.
5. The movement of history is toward equality, which means ending all oppression. (How to properly achieve ‘equality’ is left open, as is the supposition of equality is a good, or inevitable, end).
6. People must give up objective ways of thinking and embrace reflective ways of thinking, without eliminating any possibilities.
7. Critical theorists change all society. They liberate the oppressed and create equality.
How to Destroy a Nation
Frankfurt School’s Critical Theory Strategies for Imploding Democratic Republics (‘Western Societies”) are:
(The Frankfurt Manifesto – it only took one generation to poison our nation Os Hillman))
1. Undermine authority, especially of The Bible and/or those based on Biblical authority
2. Empty churches or synagogues/eliminate everything of the Judeo-Christian world view
3. Breakdown the nuclear family; and other personal, social bonds based on human dignity
4. At the earliest age, teach that all forms of sexual perversions and fluidity are really natural
5. Create dependency on government for all life sustaining basics
6. Generate overwhelming confusion through changing definitions; social and legal structures, having no source for trustworthy information, to have prevailing, increasing anxiety and fear reactions be the norm which increases chaos and propensity towards violence in general.
7. Increase immigration without assimilation to destroy national identity, i.e. nationalism is a Western evil
8. Create hostile, binary conflict among people groups/ethnicities (Bible says only one human race); this can be in diverse life arenas; examples: trade unions to industries; political parties, groups of different economic means, ethnicities which includes different cultures, skin color, groups of different education experiences, etc.
9. Create unreliable, untrustworthy institutions, particularly government agencies, healthcare, educational, food and energy suppliers, communications (those in authority and media), etc.
10. Promote dependencies on and availability of alcohol, tobacco and other mind and mood altering drugs; also, dependencies on other pharmaceuticals for daily functioning.
Current curriculum module being taught in colleges and universities across the country. The communist propaganda in these modules alters reality and could possibly bring about the self-destruction of the United States as we know it by our own children. Former Soviet KGB agent who defected to the US, Yuri Bezmenov, said in an interview with G. Edward Griffin in 1984, that the Soviet Communist propaganda was so ingrained into the US at that time he doubted that the US could recover.
Former KGB agent Yuri Bezmenov was interviewed by G. Edward Griffin in 1984. He explained the use by the USSR of “ideological subversion” a long term process of waging war on the culture, ideology and minds of the people of enemy countries, with the intent of bringing it to it’s knees – without firing a shot. The subversion tactic altered the perception of reality of citizens to such a degree that they could not conclude when it was time to defend themselves, their family, or even their country. CRT is part of this subversion. This is for the most part where the US is today.
The critical theorists want to change more than what we think, they want to change how we think. It is a world view. (Critical Theory – Social Sci LibreTexts) Many persons think of CT as beginning with the Frankfurt School of Hegel and Marx who were heavily influence by Rousseau and his Enlightenment colleagues. Hegel and Marx did much codifying of CT elements for the explicit purpose to sabotage and replace Western culture (Western Europe and USA) which it deemed inherently oppressive. These founders of socialism/Marxism/communism published within their own writings statements of their admiration of satan and/or published social and academic treatises dedicated to him (Kelly O’Connell, Is Socialism’s True Father—Satan?; “Was Karl Marx a SATANIST? – Absolute Truth from the Word of God; The Truth About Marx and Satan.
The same elements were used to bring about the 1789 French Revolution which degenerated into an emotion driven bloodbath which ended in the late1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte as a military dictator to restore basic safety to the citizenry. It illustrates how mob rule could topple governments by a populace ruled by emotions to set up power grabs for the shrewd and manipulative.
The term ‘critical theory’ was first defined by Max Horkheimer of the Frankfurt School of Social Sciences in his essay “Traditional Theory and Critical Theory. Origin and Characteristics of Critical Theory – Owlgen
Social Role Valorization (SRV) In 1857, the National Teachers Association formed. It became the National Education Association and began exerting political influence in 1870. Since the 1920’s with the humanist, socialist influence of philosopher, Marxist, John Dewey, in the U.S., various branches of philosophy, psychology and education have been based on the theory of evolution and humanism. Dewey entered graduate studies at Johns Hopkins (1882-84) studying with Charles S. Peirce, George Sylvester Morris, and G.S Hall, who self-identified as a pragmatist, Hegelian, and experimental psychologist. Dewey’s Ph.D. dissertation in 1884, critiqued Kant’s psychology.
These founders of socialism/Marxism/communism published within their own writings statements of their admiration of satan and/or published social and academic treatises dedicated to him…
Dewey credited his graduate study of Hegelianism (a foundation of Frankfurt School and Marxism) with liberating him from personal and philosophical conflicts. In 1894 Dewey went to the University of Chicago, chairing departments in Philosophy (including psychology) and Pedagogy; and was active in social/political causes. He left Chicago in 1904, to accept various positions including Teacher’s College at Columbia University in New York City(1905-1930) where he remained for the rest of his high profile, influential career. https://www.nea.org/about-nea/mission-vision-values/history-nea & John Dewey: A Beginner Guide by David L. Hildebrand (Oneworld Press, 2008). Originally published as “John Dewey: Portrait of a Progressive Thinker” in the Spring 2019 issue of Humanities magazine, a publication of the National Endowment for the Humanities.”
The “Frankfurt School”, or Institute for Social Research, affiliated with the University of Frankfurt was set up by a group of Marxist intellectuals in Germany in 1923. Kurt Lewin and others from the Frankfurt School left Germany when Hitler came to power. They came to Columbia University in New York where they were warmly welcomed by a heavily Hegelian influenced academic community. They had significant influence in several areas of psychology in the U.S. Their social action orientation fit in with the evolutionist humanism already established in most psychological and education curricula.
Although they returned to Germany after the end of the war, they were invited to participate in many academic and other activities in the U.S. and exerted influence nationally being regarded as intellectual elites. The Dialectical Imagination. Martin Jay 1973 (marxists.org)
critical theorists want to change more than what we think, they want to change how we think…
The influence of the Frankfurt School was significant in most areas of psychology and the broader field of behavioral health which included educational and therapeutic work with most disability populations. In 1983, the term Social Role Valorization (SRV) was adopted by Wolf Wolfensberger, a psychologist in the disabilities services area, who worked vigorously for the goal of improving the lives of persons with disabilities by honoring their value as individual persons; of gaining access to all avenues for personal thriving and actualization to match their individual capacities rather than being treated as monolithic populations. Previously this effort was called Social Role Normalization. The term “valorization” has been most often used to translate the German ‘verwertung’ (“changing worth”) used by Karl Marx in Das Kapital. It’s Marxist meaning is: something of value (monetary or other) is beyond what is needed for survival. (Valorization: Definition & Social Role | Study.com ) Once the social movement theorists and human services providers saw how merging their common goals for changing society could potentially accelerate bringing about the changes they desired; the change from straight-forward efforts to help persons who needed this help quickly transformed into gaining political power and the money which comes with it.
An example from the 1960’s is, Ed Roberts, Director of the California Department of Rehabilitation for about 12 yrs. He contracted polio in elementary school; was confined to a wheel chair and oxygen support throughout his life.
Saul Alinsky wrote about ‘eight levels of control’ to overtake a country.
Employing Marxist Saul Alinsky’s ‘Rules for Radicals,’ he formed local Berkley and national social movement organizations to gain political power. To expand physical disabilities advocacy by collaborating with The Women’s Movement, The Black Panthers, The Catholic Campaign for Human Development, and advocates for persons with mental illnesses, developmental disabilities and substance use disorders required changing “disabilities” or “diseases” to “the disadvantaged” and “minorities.”
Advocates learned from their social psychology training, the more the general public identify with those labeled ‘disadvantaged’, the easier and faster it is to have an effective social movement. They strategized their marketing to produce sympathy combined with guilt to yield enough personal discomfort to motivate persons to take action.
Discomfort in the presence of prepared, well-packaged ‘solutions’ is the basic formula to bring people into a movement, to accelerate desired outcomes. Once the packaged solution is designed; it is adhered to — relentlessly.
Repetition causes it to move into one’s subconscious becoming ‘background noise’; and the message and associated action(s) are more readily accepted. This is being used currently for SARS-2 Covid19 by federal and some state governments & has become “wokeness”. The targeted persons are encouraged to feed their self-image by ‘doing good;’ or feel guilty or perhaps be shunned for potentially ‘not showing the prescribed care for others.’ This distorts The Biblical teaching of treating all persons with honor as each is created intentionally by The Holy Triune God rather than for self-serving imaging making. (Independent Living Movement 1970 – Ed Roberts: Birth of the Independent Living Movement https://mn.gov/mnddc/parallels/six/6b/6.html }
Many persons have actively advocated for changes in therapeutic services, educational, housing, work, and social opportunities for persons with specific disabilities or disease needs which had theretofore gone unmet, who were not doing this for personal power or profit. Getting results can be intoxicating, alluring; and subconsciously distort original motives. There are many behavioral and human services professionals and advocates with integrity. There are others who have wandered off their original path. There are some who think social movements for personal power and gain is their identity or calling.
Ironically, the original idea of SVR was for each person to be seen individually; for their assets and needs to be specifically addressed in a way which honored each individual. Social movements tend to not unify; rather lead to uniformity, treating persons as a few sets of monolithic groups. The use of ‘evidence-based’ programs based on well vetted research are informative; however, if the person or organization serving someone in need doesn’t modify these to the specific person, we are back to exactly what SRV was fighting to overcome at its onset.
Critical Race Theory (CRT) is Social Role Valorization weaponized/gain-of-functionalized by adhering to the Frankfurt School’s strategy (see section at beginning) to destroy personal freedoms founded on a Biblical worldview and values. This is no surprise since Ed Roberts and his colleagues successfully employed these strategies in the U.S. in the 1960’s. Saul Alinsky’s Marxist Rules for Rebels are a virulent version of the Frankfurt School’s strategy; they are a form of Critical Theory (CT) based on atheism or agnosticism; the humanist idea of persons being born good; that we can create our own paradisiacal planet by evolving through conflict. It holds conflict is good – as long as “we” control it. It works to create strife. The current pandemic and related government actions in the U.S. and around the globe are manifesting these very strategic elements resulting in distrust and desire to eliminate groups of ‘others.’ This is “cancel culture”. It is the doorway to selective, imposed euthanasia. It has led to mass extermination of those of Jews and Christians in Nazi Germany, the U.S.S.R., North Korea, etc.
The Bible tells us seed-time and harvest will prevail as long as there is earth (Genesis 8:22). We may have good intentions and a compassionate, tender heart, yet, if we employ the wrong strategies, the outcome(s) will not be good. How do we turn this around? We become alert and honest with ourselves, we then turn around, consistently cleaving to truth and integrity.
If I close the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people, and if My people who are called by My Name humble themselves and pray and seek My Face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. — 2 Chronicles 7:13-14
…no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of The LORD, and this is their vindication from Me,” declares The LORD. — Isaiah 54:17
Barbara Bush, M.P.S. was an alcoholic/drug addict until age 34, and after a 5 year cleansing period she earned a master’s degree from Loyola University Graduate Institute for Ministry. Her career has spanned federal, state and local governments, community organizations and ministry working in behavioral health, criminal justice and human services. For the past ten years she has focused on promoting Biblical Truth. She is the principal at Graceful Dynamics Consulting.
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