If the German far-right passed laws forbidding schools from teaching about the crimes of Nazism because such teaching causes anguish and guilt in German children, condemnation would be immediate and worldwide.
So should we condemn Florida’s Stop Woke Act? It bans the teaching of concepts that suggest that “a person, by virtue of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin, bears personal responsibility for and must feel guilt, anguish or other forms of psychological distress because of actions, in which the person played no part, committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, national origin, or sex.”
Proponents of such laws claim they free schools from indoctrination. In the immortal word of Barnstable Bear, “Rowrbazzle!” Indoctrination does not come from allowing the free flow of ideas. Indoctrination comes from banning ideas. To ban authors and concepts and call it freedom is straight out of George Orwell’s dystopia.
— Dale Gerboth
Anchorage
Have something on your mind? Send to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Letters under 200 words have the best chance of being published. Writers should disclose any personal or professional connections with the subjects of their letters. Letters are edited for accuracy, clarity and length.