Much has been written about how America’s universities have been infiltrated by radical leftists who have created a campus environment of political correctness, wokeness, cancel culture, critical race theory and socialism. However, one would assume that the United States’ military academies would be spared from this movement. Unfortunately, we are learning this is not the case, and the latest example comes from the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Before this football season, the Academy released a three-minute video in which the head coach Troy Calhoun and numerous assistant coaches speak directly into the camera and pronounce again and again, “Black lives matter.” While they do not expressly endorse the organization Black Lives Matter, they recite much of the group’s propaganda. For instance, they state, “Black lives … are not treated as equal in our society,” and, “It is not enough for us to be ‘not racist.’ It is time to be ‘anti-racist.'” They complain about “institutional discrimination.” A white coach states, “It’s time for me to recognize my bias.” Bizarrely, they also note the need to “pursue greater opportunities when it comes to … healthcare” and even address “Marxism” and “capitalism.”
Lt. Gen. Rod Bishop is leading a group of Academy alums seeking to get the video taken down. In an exclusive interview on my “Hidden Truth Show” podcast released today, he contends that the video contains falsehoods, endorses a Marxist organization, is detrimental to morale, and violates military rules and regulations. “If you are an Air Force commander five to ten years from now, are you going to want to fly into that combat zone if you have been taught that your country is inherently evil and racist?” Bishop asked.
In the interview, he describes the group’s efforts to get the coach or the Academy’s superintendent to take down the video. However, they have repeatedly failed to do so, noting that many people “like” it. So, the group resorted to a more formal process, filing a complaint with the Air Force Inspector General in September. The complaint alleged that the video violates Air Force and Department of Defense directives that prohibit members from publicly advocating for a “political party” or “political cause.” The complaint also alleged that the video violates the recent Office of Management and Budget directive and the recent Executive Order for federal agencies to refrain from teaching “critical race theory,” which came at the urging of President Trump.
On Nov. 13, the Inspector General of the Air Force, through the Director of Senior Official Inquiries, incredibly ruled that the video does not violate these directives. The ruling provided no analysis or reasoning. It simply concluded, “There is insufficient evidence to indicate wrongdoing and an inadequate basis to warrant further investigation. We are therefore dismissing your complaint.”
One could speculate that the Inspector General’s office denied the complaint because the coaches never expressly endorsed the organization Black Lives Matter, rather simply asserted that “black lives matter.” However, by repeatedly stating that black lives matter, especially in the context of a video that alleges institutional racism, necessarily implies that there are many Americans who believe that black lives do not matter. Further, statements such as, “Blacks are not treated as equal in our society” are clearly political, not to mention made without support.
The black lives matter movement emanates from police incidents caught on tape. However, in most such incidents, the police were cleared of any wrongdoing after investigation. And, in the cases of genuine police brutality, there is still no evidence that race was a motivating factor. This is true even of the George Floyd arrest, which led to the Air Force video.
“We need to attack race from a united point of view. BLM is divisive,” Bishop said. “We had it right in the 1960s to judge people by the content of their character, not by the color of their skin. We all bleed red underneath.”
The full interview can be seen here:
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