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In Critical Constructivism Primer (2005), Joe L. Kincheloe presents twelve guiding assumptions of what he calls “critical constructivism.” These principles together form an epistemological framework that treats knowledge as historically situated, socially mediated, and deeply entwined with power. In recent years, the same framework has informed what is now called “woke” ideology. This first essay examines Kincheloe’s opening three assumptions, which supply the philosophical foundation for that worldview.
1. Reality is socially constructed.
Kincheloe’s starting point is that reality is not encountered directly but always through interpretive lenses shaped by culture and history. “The knower and the known are interactive, engaged in a dialectical process” that makes empirical objectivity an illusion.¹ This insistence on mediation explains why woke discourse tends to prioritize interpretation over fact. History, science, or biology are not treated as neutral accounts of reality but as social artifacts built by dominant groups. The result is a cultural tendency to deconstruct established narratives and to elevate “lived experience” as more authentic than empirical observation.
2. Knowers are historically and socially situated.
Kincheloe argues that “all knowledge is shaped by the social and historical circumstances of the knower.”² This principle underwrites the now-common focus on “positionality” in public discourse. Individuals are asked to acknowledge privilege, confess bias, and defer to voices perceived as more marginalized. Far from being mere humility, this practice serves to undermine the possibility of universal reason. Disagreement is often interpreted as an assertion of dominance rather than a legitimate contribution to debate.
3. Knowledge and people are culturally forged.
Kincheloe’s third assumption is that both human beings and the knowledge they produce are “cultural constructions.”³ Identities are therefore understood as fluid, provisional, and malleable. From this vantage point, language becomes a tool for reshaping social reality itself. Terms such as “birthing person” are not semantic curiosities but deliberate efforts to reconstruct categories and, by extension, to remake the culture that relies upon them.
Synthesis.
These three assumptions establish the foundation of the woke worldview. They reject objective reality, insist that knowledge is inseparable from social position, and regard identity itself as a cultural artifact subject to reconstruction. What appears outwardly as a compassionate commitment to inclusion thus rests on an epistemology that empowers adherents to act as architects of reality. The consequences are profound: truth is no longer discovered but manufactured, and society is remade through the politics of construction.
Notes
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Joe L. Kincheloe, Critical Constructivism Primer (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2005), 2.
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Ibid., 3.
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Ibid., 4–5.
“The killers will push and push until we have no freedom left.”
In Bioshock Infinite (2013), the hymn Will the Circle Be Unbroken serves as a haunting, thematic anchor, deeply woven into the game’s narrative and atmosphere. Composed in 1907 by Ada R. Habershon and Charles H. Gabriel, the version in the game is a reimagined, melancholic rendition performed by Elizabeth, the central female character, with vocals by Courtnee Draper and arranged by Troy Baker. It appears in key moments, notably during the game’s opening in Columbia, a floating city steeped in religious zealotry, and in quieter, introspective scenes tied to Elizabeth’s journey.
The hymn’s lyrics, reflecting on loss, salvation, and eternal reunion, resonate with the game’s exploration of redemption, parallel universes, and cyclical time. Its inclusion underscores the pseudo-Christian ideology of Columbia’s prophet, Zachary Hale Comstock, while contrasting the city’s utopian facade with its dystopian reality. The stripped-down, a cappella delivery amplifies Elizabeth’s emotional vulnerability, making it a poignant motif for her struggle and the game’s themes of choice and inevitability.
There are loved ones in the glory,
Whose dear forms you often miss;
When you close your earthly story,
Will you join them in their bliss?
Chorus:
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, by and by?
Is a better home awaiting
In the sky, in the sky?
In the joyous days of childhood,
Oft they told of wondrous love,
Pointed to the dying Saviour;
Now they dwell with Him above.
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, by and by?
Is a better home awaiting
In the sky, in the sky?
You remember songs of heaven
Which you sang with childish voice,
Do you love the hymns they taught you,
Or are songs of earth your choice?
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, by and by?
Is a better home awaiting
In the sky, in the sky?
You can picture happy gath’rings
‘Round the fireside long ago,
And you think of tearful partings,
When they left you here below.
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, by and by?
Is a better home awaiting
In the sky, in the sky?
One by one their seats were emptied,
And one by one they went away;
Now the family is parted,
Will it be complete one day?
Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, by and by?
Is a better home awaiting
In the sky, in the sky?
The latest claim of “unmarked graves” at St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia exposes a familiar pattern: sweeping headlines, scant evidence. On August 14, 2025, the Williams Lake First Nation announced ground-penetrating radar (GPR) detected 16 “anomalies.” Global News and others framed them as “potential burial sites.” Yet no remains have been confirmed, substituting implication for proof.
Canadians know this script. In 2021, Kamloops’ claim of 215 “graves” became Canada’s “news story of the year,” sparking global outrage and $12 million in federal funding. Four years on, no bodies surfaced—GPR anomalies aligned with tree roots or septic tiles. Still, the unverified narrative lingers as proof of mass graves.
Geophysicists note GPR cannot distinguish human remains from soil disruptions—a fact buried in coverage. Yet sensational claims yield dividends: $8 million in reconciliation grants since 2021, media clout, and moral authority, all absent hard evidence. The Williams Lake announcement follows suit, with no excavation planned, only “consultation.”
None of this negates the residential school era’s tragedies—deaths from disease or neglect were documented. But inflating anomalies into “graves” distorts history, manipulates grief, and diverts resources from urgent Indigenous needs. Worse, a proposed federal bill to criminalize “denialism” would shield such claims from scrutiny, turning skepticism into heresy.
Truth demands excavation, not headlines. Until anomalies are verified, Canadians are asked to mistake speculation for fact. That is not reconciliation—it is a grave error, fracturing trust in a nation desperate for unity.
Sources Referenced
- Global News, “Williams Lake First Nation Finds 16 Potential Burial Sites,” August 14, 2025
- Fraser Institute, “No Evidence of ‘Mass Graves’ in Residential Schools,” February 12, 2024
- National Post, “Kamloops Graves Remain Unproven,” April 6, 2025
- Struggles-Activist.com, “Three Years Later, Canadian ‘Mass Graves’ Claims Remain Unproven,” January 7, 2025
- Aggregated X posts, August 2025
Canada’s tariff wars reveal a glaring double standard: confrontation with Communist China draws muted shrugs, while disputes with the United States ignite fiery “elbow up” rhetoric and national outrage. When China slapped a 75.8% tariff on Canadian canola in August 2025—retaliation for Ottawa’s 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles and 25% on steel and aluminum announced earlier that spring—Manitoba farmers were left reeling. Nearly half of their canola exports go to China, and industry estimates project multi-billion-dollar losses. Yet Canada’s political class and major media outlets framed Beijing’s move as a mere “tit-for-tat” trade dispute, urging patience and diplomacy. Outside the mainstream, social media filled with posts lamenting the devastation in farm country.
Contrast this with the uproar over U.S. tariffs. In March 2025, President Donald Trump imposed 25% duties on Canadian goods (excluding energy), escalating them to 35% by August. Ottawa erupted. Prime Minister Mark Carney thundered about the need for a unified “North American market,” while pundits and media outlets blasted “unjustified” American aggression. Canadians were rallied with slogans of defiance and “elbow up” resolve. Yet under CUSMA, more than 85% of Canada–U.S. trade remains tariff-free, meaning the outrage over Washington’s measures dwarfed the reaction to China’s far heavier blow to canola.
The contrast betrays selective indignation. China, an authoritarian regime, cripples a vital Canadian industry yet escapes national fury. The United States, a democratic ally, delivers a lesser economic hit and is vilified. Such narrative hypocrisy undermines both unity and credibility, sacrificing farmers’ livelihoods for geopolitical posturing. If Canada roars at Washington but bows to Beijing, it sends a dangerous message: principle is negotiable, and farmers are expendable.
Sources:
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Statistics Canada, 2023 Trade Data
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CBC News, “China’s Tariffs on Canadian Canola,” Aug. 13, 2025
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Fraser Institute, “Trump’s Trade War Update,” Aug. 12, 2025
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Globe and Mail, “Over 85% of Canada–U.S. Trade Remains Tariff-Free under CUSMA,” Aug. 2025
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Aggregated X posts, Aug. 2025
Amy Hamm, a British Columbia nurse, faces a $93,811 fine from the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) for a thought-crime: stating that humans are biologically sexed and gender identity cannot override this reality. Her off-duty remarks defending women’s sex-based rights, like female-only spaces, were ruled “discriminatory and derogatory” by a disciplinary panel. The decision, released March 13, 2025, followed over 20 days of hearings triggered by activist complaints—not patients—over her support for J.K. Rowling and posts declaring “there are only two sexes.”
Hamm’s ordeal mirrors a Maoist-style struggle session, a public shaming meant to crush dissent. The BCCNM’s 115-page ruling, backed by ideologically aligned “experts,” condemned her for challenging gender identity dogma, equating her advocacy with “erasing” trans existence. No evidence of patient harm surfaced. Yet Hamm—fired without severance by Vancouver Coastal Health—faced harassment, death threats, and accusations of professional misconduct for her views.
This is no anomaly but a trend: regulators weaponize “professional standards” to silence dissent on gender ideology, as seen in the Ontario College of Psychologists’ pursuit of Jordan Peterson for his social media critiques of progressive orthodoxy. Canada’s Charter protects free expression, but bodies like the BCCNM act as enforcers of dogma. Hamm’s appeal to the B.C. Supreme Court, backed by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, challenges this overreach, but the precedent endangers all who prioritize truth.
Canada’s buckling healthcare system squanders resources on ideological witch hunts while patients languish. Hamm’s near-$100,000 fine for speaking truth signals a nation veering from reason into authoritarian zeal, where dissent becomes heresy and free inquiry burns.
Sources Referenced
- B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives, Discipline Committee Decision, March 13, 2025
- Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, Press Releases, March–April 2025
- National Post, Opinion, April 6, 2025
- Aggregated X posts, August 2025
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