Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.
Banning books stifles history.
The odd thing about the latest effort to control what books are assigned to Advanced Placement classes in American schools is that the information in those books -- on Black history in America -- is part of American history.
Blacks in America were in fact treated badly for centuries, beginning in the settlement era, through the slave era and continuing today. To ban books dealing with the treatment of Blacks in American is to stifle part of American history.
How about a course on the treatment of Irish immigrants and Italian newcomers in the 19th Century and the early years of the 20th Century, as well as the treatment of Jews, then and now? Or the treatment of Chinese immigrants, supported by federal legislation in the 19th Century?
And, of course, there was the treatment of the people who were already here and had been in America for centuries before the first Europeans arrived in the 17th Century. These native peoples were treated as somehow less than human. Which was a way of rationalizing the foul treatment of them.
Now we see efforts by so-called government leaders to ban from their schools books that teach Black history. This is nothing less than censorship, a way of limiting which books are available.
Proponents claim it is a way of protecting innocent young people from propaganda that will undermine their loyalty to the American way. But that in itself is propaganda, a way of foisting a preferred view of history onto innocent children who are not capable of seeing the fallacies promoted. Also forgotten is the reality that this teaching is designed for Advanced Placement classes, with high-level students who are bound for college. One could argue that this information should be taught to all students. Perhaps not in kindergarten classes, but certainly at the high school level.
But what if the information is not fallacious, but true?
There was, and remains, widespread ill treatment of minority groups in America, both those who were brought here against their will as well as those who today coming here on their own seeking a better way.
Forgotten amid all the political noise is the reality of history.
Meanwhile, hypocrisy thrives.
"Send me your tired, your poor,
Your huddle masses yearning to breathe free.
I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door."
Banning books stifles history.
The odd thing about the latest effort to control what books are assigned to Advanced Placement classes in American schools is that the information in those books -- on Black history in America -- is part of American history.
Blacks in America were in fact treated badly for centuries, beginning in the settlement era, through the slave era and continuing today. To ban books dealing with the treatment of Blacks in American is to stifle part of American history.
How about a course on the treatment of Irish immigrants and Italian newcomers in the 19th Century and the early years of the 20th Century, as well as the treatment of Jews, then and now? Or the treatment of Chinese immigrants, supported by federal legislation in the 19th Century?
And, of course, there was the treatment of the people who were already here and had been in America for centuries before the first Europeans arrived in the 17th Century. These native peoples were treated as somehow less than human. Which was a way of rationalizing the foul treatment of them.
Now we see efforts by so-called government leaders to ban from their schools books that teach Black history. This is nothing less than censorship, a way of limiting which books are available.
Proponents claim it is a way of protecting innocent young people from propaganda that will undermine their loyalty to the American way. But that in itself is propaganda, a way of foisting a preferred view of history onto innocent children who are not capable of seeing the fallacies promoted. Also forgotten is the reality that this teaching is designed for Advanced Placement classes, with high-level students who are bound for college. One could argue that this information should be taught to all students. Perhaps not in kindergarten classes, but certainly at the high school level.
But what if the information is not fallacious, but true?
There was, and remains, widespread ill treatment of minority groups in America, both those who were brought here against their will as well as those who today coming here on their own seeking a better way.
Forgotten amid all the political noise is the reality of history.
Meanwhile, hypocrisy thrives.
"Send me your tired, your poor,
Your huddle masses yearning to breathe free.
I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door."
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