I know I’m biased. I believe we all are, at least in my personal definition. We all have preferences and aversions, loves and hates, that may be based on no discernible reason, on single or multiple experiences, or on what our family, friends, and culture have told or shown us through childhood and beyond. For me, these include inconsequential likes and dislikes (foods, movies, etc.) as well as racial and religious bias that have wreaked havoc in societies around the world for centuries, and continue to be strong and destructive today.
Recently, I realized that I share a belief — a bias — with even the most conservative and reactionary groups and candidates today: I believe that words and ideas are incredibly important and powerful enough to change people’s lives, and by extension, the societies they live in. I’ve written about the importance of words many times in the last six years, including the harm done by Donald Trump’s words that disparage minorities, disabled people, military veterans and their families, and anyone challenging him; the incredible spread of misinformation through social media and the calculated use of propaganda and disinformation; the power of Amanda Gorman’s poetry to lift us up and unite us.
Across the country, far-right Republicans are showing their belief in the power of words and ideas, and their fear of that power, by attempting to prohibit teaching or even discussing racial issues in social studies, American history and other classrooms. As of early February, at least 36 states have adopted or introduced laws or policies that restrict teaching about race and racism. Texas passed a law that bans teaching which makes white students or business employees feel “discomfort” about racial problems, and Florida is near passing a similar one. In my mind, good teachin — in every subject — should strive to create some discomfort; it’s part of the process of learning and growing.
But the culture war doesn’t stop there. The same constituency is pushing local school boards to remove certain books from school libraries or ban their acquisition. Nearly all the books are related to racial and gender issues, and high-profile, politically-charged debates about appropriate books are continuing in Texas, Virginia, and other states.
As a parent, and former teacher, I understand the impulse to want to protect your children from exposure to too much sexual information too early, and from teaching that is extremely politically-biased. But most school libraries have a process for reviewing a book which a parent objects to, and as one retired Texas school librarian noted, “A library is a place of voluntary inquiry. That means when a student walks in, they’re not forced to check out a book that they or their parents find objectionable. But they also don’t have authority to say what books should or shouldn’t be available to other students.”
The strong push at the state level to control local school instruction and libraries flies in the face of the traditional conservative position that communities should control the way their children are taught and the information they have access to. And if after a review process, a community decides on an approach that a parent disagrees with, they may be forced to consider a private school that better aligns with their beliefs or step into the full-time-and-more job of home schooling.
In November, Texas Republican State Rep. Matt Krause submitted an absurd list of 850 books that could be considered objectionable, including titles such as “Teen Legal Rights,” “It’s Perfectly Normal” (about changes related to puberty), books mentioning LGBTQ issues or characters, “Foundations of Democracy,” and “Stop Bullying Now”.
In their push for restrictions, Krause and supporters are showing their belief in the power of words, and their fear of the effects of those words. Like Krause, I believe that words can propel people into action. That action may be peaceful or violent, as seen, for example, in the peaceful Selma march for voting rights in 1965, inspired by MLK Jr. and John Lewis, and for troopers that ruthlessly attacked them, inspired by the hateful words of Governor George Wallace. For centuries, soldiers have committed war crimes, including genocide, because of their belief in the powerful words of their leaders.
Suggesting removal of books from a school library or controlling a school’s teaching is in no way equivalent to the physical violence of war or genocide. But I do believe it is a step towards limiting peoples’ critical thought processes and reaffirming the racial and gender bias that poisons our country.
Allen Woods is a freelance writer, author of the Revolutionary-era crime novel “The Sword and Scabbard,” and Greenfield resident. His column appears regularly on a Saturday. Comments are welcome here or at awoods2846@gmail.com.