The trojan horse of inclusion

In the 21st century, we live in an era of information warfare, in which battles are fought over ideologies, words are weaponized, and misinformation prevails. Because of this, everyday people in ordinary communities may unsuspectingly be embracing deceptive trojan horses.

Recently this information battle played out at the Lakeville school board. On Jan. 28, the new 2025 school board voted to remove a so-called “Inclusive Poster Series” that the previous 2021 school board had created.

Immediately, the community was outraged. What school board member could possibly vote against inclusion?

Yet there is important contextual information the public was lacking that would help them understand how this so called “Inclusive Poster Series” is actually quite the opposite.

Six of the eight signs have positive messages such as: “Be Kind” and “We are Stronger Together,” yet two of the signs state: “Black Lives Matter” along with a statement of solidarity: “At Lakeville Area Schools we believe Black Lives Matter and stand with the social justice movement this statement represents.”

At the same time the poster series was created, citizens requested additional messages to be included, such as: “All Lives Matters” and “Blue Lives Matter.” Yet the former school board denied these requests. These citizens sued the district.

Thus, the posters series which claimed to be “Inclusive” was actually the opposite; they were exclusive and discriminatory.

The posters also violated Lakeville school district policy 535 that the schools are to remain politically neutral. Additionally, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the former school board violated free speech and engaged in viewpoint discrimination.

So the current Lakeville school board’s decision to remove the signs was actually a vote to restore the district into alignment with its own policy of neutrality and the ruling of the 8th circuit court. Their vote gave our community the gift of a fresh start, a blank slate upon which we can forge a new united path forward.

In the height of irony, those who were the most outspoken advocates for “inclusion” at the school board meeting were the first to sling disrespectful and hateful words toward those who advocated for the signs’ removal, thus proving their own hypocrisy.

This exemplifies how the concept of inclusion is used as a trojan horse. More often than not it ushers in discriminatory practices that exclude those who do not agree with the prevailing narrative.

Wake up to the war on words 

In his work On Education, Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci advocates for creating social change by changing the way we think and speak. We see this strategy playing out in every sphere of our society, especially in education.

Thus, we cannot trust the names or titles of an initiative. We must examine the definitions of key words and terminology. We must look beyond what something is called to the essence of what it is. In today’s world, what something is called is often the opposite of what it is.

For example, instead of supporting reproduction, the key purpose of HF1—the “Protect Reproductive Options Act”—was to enshrine every woman’s “right” to abort her unborn child at any gestational age, thus making Minnesota an abortion sanctuary state, versus a center of reproduction as the name would imply.

Likewise, instead of affirming natural, biological gender, HF 146—the “Gender Affirming Care” bill—ensures an individual’s “right” to unnaturally destroy or alter his or her gender through chemical or surgical methods. Thus, this bill established Minnesota as a refuge state for those who want to unnaturally alter or destroy their gender, versus embrace it as the title would imply.

So we must always closely evaluate the content of an initiative to determine whether it is truly something virtuous and beneficial, or if it is just another destructive trojan horse.

Karin Miller is the author of “Faith in Action,” a Substack publication. She is a wife, mother, teacher, and community leader who seeks to bring the salt and light of God’s truth into the social, political sphere.