Interesting timing for this Florida Law, as 90 miles south, the Cuban people are protesting in the streets the failings of one party communist rule, because they are hungry, they are sick, and they lack opportunity that education and an open society ( not one party states) provide. Behind this Florida Law, is some Cuban American hysteria and trauma for what they have escaped mixed in with some white supremist ideology and fear of ever sharing power with a 2nd party.
Together these laws imitate the dictatorships of communism and totalitarianism of the one party states that it seems some in Florida want it to become. You can not increase freedom and opportunity when you limit and subvert education and claim it as "patriotism".
And either the Florida legislature does not know, or has forgotten that " At the heart of that western freedom and democracy is the belief that the individual man, the child of God, is the touchstone of value, and all society, all groups, and states, exist for that person's benefit. Therefore the enlargement of liberty for individual human beings must be the supreme goal and the abiding practice of any western society.
The first element of this individual liberty is the freedom of speech; the right to express and communicate ideas, to set oneself apart from the dumb beasts of field and forest; the right to recall governments to their duties and obligations; above all, the right to affirm one's membership and allegiance to the body politic – to society – to the men with whom we share our land, our heritage and our children's future.
Hand in hand with freedom of speech goes the power to be heard – to share in the decisions of government which shape men's lives. Everything that makes man's lives worthwhile – family, work, education, a place to rear one's children and a place to rest one's head – all this depends on the decisions of government; all can be swept away by a government which does not heed the demands of its people, and I mean all of its people. Therefore, the essential humanity of man can be protected and preserved only where the government must answer – not just to the wealthy; not just to those of a particular religion, not just to those of a particular race; but to all of the people.
And even government by the consent of the governed, as in our own Constitution, must be limited in its power to act against its people: so that there may be no interference with the right to worship, but also no interference with the security of the home; no arbitrary imposition of pains or penalties on an ordinary citizen by officials high or low; no restriction on the freedom of men to seek education or to seek work or opportunity of any kind, so that each man may become all that he is capable of becoming.
These are the sacred rights of western society. These were the essential differences between us and Nazi Germany as they were between Athens and Persia.
They are the essences of our differences with communism today. I am unalterably opposed to communism because it exalts the state over the individual and over the family, and because its system contains a lack of freedom of speech, of protest, of religion, and of the press, which is characteristic of a totalitarian regime. The way of opposition to communism, however, is not to imitate its dictatorship, but to enlarge individual human freedom. There are those in every land who would label as "communist" every threat to their privilege. But may I say to you , as I have seen on my travels in all sections of the world, reform is not communism. And the denial of freedom, in whatever name, only strengthens the very communism it claims to oppose." -Robert Kennedy, 1966
Very well put, Ted Keyes. The misnomer, "anti-Communist", is glaring in its Communist tendency, akin to the "anti-Riot" laws recently passed in FL. Since in power, Governor DeSantis has worked to scale back individual freedoms while claiming to support them. He, with the help of the FL legislature, has worked to scale back voter-ballot initiatives, changing the rules required to get a plebiscite passed as well as add caveats once they do (i.e. voting rights restoration, legalized marijuana, minimum wage).
As Dr. Snyder has pointed out numerous times in recent weeks, the "saver" and "protector" card is most often played by dictators, especially those that rise through electoral processes. Such electorally positioned dictators always claim to be protecting the citizens from some threat, scapegoating and leverage perceived threats from other groups ("them") and cultural fears (grievance politics, culture wars).
Without a doubt, the memory, educational, voting, and protest laws being passed in FL interfere in Floridian's right to worship; security of home; restrict free thinking; and do all of these through ambiguous, circularly worded laws with steep (arbitrary) pains and penalties. While not identical to literacy tests and other discriminatory legislation of the past (eugenics/sterilization), the new legislation creates a relative fear-state, in which teachers, poll workers, would-be protesters, and other civil servants fear for their jobs, livelihood, and even inner-thoughts.
It is important to remember that in his rise and while in power, Hitler often used America's Jim Crow, segregation, eugenics, and general discrimination as a defense of his actions. Hitler's whataboutism gave him great legitimacy, and America's Conservative Party is employing the same methodology, claiming to be "saving" people from a non-existent threat in order to create, defend, and justify more authoritarian legislation.
Thanks GK. More examples of Florida GOP offering "fake protection for people with real pain".
Florida now has passed into law, Anti Assembly, anti voting rights, and anti history/education/memory law legislation. Just like in 1920's and 30's Germany, when fear of losing power, Conservatives banded with the Fascists to cling to power by manipulating the population into a Communist hysteria, justifying the loss of freedoms, slow at first, and then accelerating to totalitarianism, by taking advantage of every complex challenge/problem. GK, you are correct to refence Hitler and the Nazi's. "We can have individualism or totalitarianism".
Todays post I am reminded of George Orwell's Animal Farm and Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Both books are banned in over 125 communist/authoritarian countries, and I am sure Hannah Arendt's books are too. These books are banned in those countries for the same reason Florida is doing what it is doing.
Likewise, the most commonly banned books in the United States are around race (more specifically, systemic racism), and LGTBQ+ stories.
In a more philosophical lens, how does any democracy push back against such tactics? The similarities between the Conservative of the Weimar and the Conservatives of contemporary America are frightening, as we (and Dr. Snyder) have pointed out thus far. But, how does a democratic society, valuing freedom of speech, expression, assembly, grievance, insulate itself from propagandized "savior"/"protector" messaging, especially in today's social media age? How does a liberal society defeat such abhorrent dis- and misinformation without feeding into the hysteria/accusations of the far-right?
I am not aware of a book on race that is banned in the US. Which books are you talking about?
Democracy is sustained by investments in Education, equality before the rule of law, support for an sharing of local news, and guided by moral leadership at each level of government. An undeniable truth is crowds of people gathering in the streets to protest, forcing their voices be heard.
Democracy has always been threatened by demagoguery via new communications technology, excessive nationalism, inequality before the law (our current SCOTUS is an example today), restrictions on assembly, speech, restrictive voting rights, and divesting public education. Guns, and fear of political violence ( Jan 6th) as well as disease/lack of health care also threaten democracy. The aforementioned always grows stronger in an unregulated capitalistic society, as Oligarchy and wealth gap grows. But "A mind once enlightened can not again become dark." T. Paine
"More than 273 titles were challenged or banned in 2020, with increasing demands to remove books that address racism and racial justice or those that shared the stories of Black, Indigenous, or people of color. As with previous years, LGBTQ+ content also dominated the list."
It is interesting the way in which communications technology most often becomes the tool of the oppressor. Germany under the Third Reich had more radios per capita than any other country. Social media, at least for now, seems to be a tool for mistruths, propaganda, and authoritarianism, despite the high hopes of the Arab Spring.
Based on your last quote, I am assuming you would claim that the solution to rising nationalism (increased by Trump), legal inequalities (4th Amend has existed since Reagan's "War on Drugs"), and the crisis that ultimately makes people more malleable/desperate/accepting of authoritarianism (COVID vs. Great Depression) is education...? But, I think this is where American Conservatives have learned from the authoritarians of the past, wrapping up educational initiatives in ambiguous "savior" culture wars. I am deeply concerned with the direction of the United States (and the world), as a right-ward wave seems to be rolling across the world.
That looks like a good link. Is there one that says "where" or what states those are banned in? I bet I can guess which states. Two books on the ALA's list were part of my education, To Kill a Mocking bird and Of Mice and Men.
An assertion of power, isn't it, this law? Less about what it says than what it is. And demonstrating nothing so much as an absence of any effectively countervailing political will.
Interesting timing for this Florida Law, as 90 miles south, the Cuban people are protesting in the streets the failings of one party communist rule, because they are hungry, they are sick, and they lack opportunity that education and an open society ( not one party states) provide. Behind this Florida Law, is some Cuban American hysteria and trauma for what they have escaped mixed in with some white supremist ideology and fear of ever sharing power with a 2nd party.
Together these laws imitate the dictatorships of communism and totalitarianism of the one party states that it seems some in Florida want it to become. You can not increase freedom and opportunity when you limit and subvert education and claim it as "patriotism".
And either the Florida legislature does not know, or has forgotten that " At the heart of that western freedom and democracy is the belief that the individual man, the child of God, is the touchstone of value, and all society, all groups, and states, exist for that person's benefit. Therefore the enlargement of liberty for individual human beings must be the supreme goal and the abiding practice of any western society.
The first element of this individual liberty is the freedom of speech; the right to express and communicate ideas, to set oneself apart from the dumb beasts of field and forest; the right to recall governments to their duties and obligations; above all, the right to affirm one's membership and allegiance to the body politic – to society – to the men with whom we share our land, our heritage and our children's future.
Hand in hand with freedom of speech goes the power to be heard – to share in the decisions of government which shape men's lives. Everything that makes man's lives worthwhile – family, work, education, a place to rear one's children and a place to rest one's head – all this depends on the decisions of government; all can be swept away by a government which does not heed the demands of its people, and I mean all of its people. Therefore, the essential humanity of man can be protected and preserved only where the government must answer – not just to the wealthy; not just to those of a particular religion, not just to those of a particular race; but to all of the people.
And even government by the consent of the governed, as in our own Constitution, must be limited in its power to act against its people: so that there may be no interference with the right to worship, but also no interference with the security of the home; no arbitrary imposition of pains or penalties on an ordinary citizen by officials high or low; no restriction on the freedom of men to seek education or to seek work or opportunity of any kind, so that each man may become all that he is capable of becoming.
These are the sacred rights of western society. These were the essential differences between us and Nazi Germany as they were between Athens and Persia.
They are the essences of our differences with communism today. I am unalterably opposed to communism because it exalts the state over the individual and over the family, and because its system contains a lack of freedom of speech, of protest, of religion, and of the press, which is characteristic of a totalitarian regime. The way of opposition to communism, however, is not to imitate its dictatorship, but to enlarge individual human freedom. There are those in every land who would label as "communist" every threat to their privilege. But may I say to you , as I have seen on my travels in all sections of the world, reform is not communism. And the denial of freedom, in whatever name, only strengthens the very communism it claims to oppose." -Robert Kennedy, 1966
Very well put, Ted Keyes. The misnomer, "anti-Communist", is glaring in its Communist tendency, akin to the "anti-Riot" laws recently passed in FL. Since in power, Governor DeSantis has worked to scale back individual freedoms while claiming to support them. He, with the help of the FL legislature, has worked to scale back voter-ballot initiatives, changing the rules required to get a plebiscite passed as well as add caveats once they do (i.e. voting rights restoration, legalized marijuana, minimum wage).
As Dr. Snyder has pointed out numerous times in recent weeks, the "saver" and "protector" card is most often played by dictators, especially those that rise through electoral processes. Such electorally positioned dictators always claim to be protecting the citizens from some threat, scapegoating and leverage perceived threats from other groups ("them") and cultural fears (grievance politics, culture wars).
Without a doubt, the memory, educational, voting, and protest laws being passed in FL interfere in Floridian's right to worship; security of home; restrict free thinking; and do all of these through ambiguous, circularly worded laws with steep (arbitrary) pains and penalties. While not identical to literacy tests and other discriminatory legislation of the past (eugenics/sterilization), the new legislation creates a relative fear-state, in which teachers, poll workers, would-be protesters, and other civil servants fear for their jobs, livelihood, and even inner-thoughts.
It is important to remember that in his rise and while in power, Hitler often used America's Jim Crow, segregation, eugenics, and general discrimination as a defense of his actions. Hitler's whataboutism gave him great legitimacy, and America's Conservative Party is employing the same methodology, claiming to be "saving" people from a non-existent threat in order to create, defend, and justify more authoritarian legislation.
Thanks GK. More examples of Florida GOP offering "fake protection for people with real pain".
Florida now has passed into law, Anti Assembly, anti voting rights, and anti history/education/memory law legislation. Just like in 1920's and 30's Germany, when fear of losing power, Conservatives banded with the Fascists to cling to power by manipulating the population into a Communist hysteria, justifying the loss of freedoms, slow at first, and then accelerating to totalitarianism, by taking advantage of every complex challenge/problem. GK, you are correct to refence Hitler and the Nazi's. "We can have individualism or totalitarianism".
Todays post I am reminded of George Orwell's Animal Farm and Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Both books are banned in over 125 communist/authoritarian countries, and I am sure Hannah Arendt's books are too. These books are banned in those countries for the same reason Florida is doing what it is doing.
Likewise, the most commonly banned books in the United States are around race (more specifically, systemic racism), and LGTBQ+ stories.
In a more philosophical lens, how does any democracy push back against such tactics? The similarities between the Conservative of the Weimar and the Conservatives of contemporary America are frightening, as we (and Dr. Snyder) have pointed out thus far. But, how does a democratic society, valuing freedom of speech, expression, assembly, grievance, insulate itself from propagandized "savior"/"protector" messaging, especially in today's social media age? How does a liberal society defeat such abhorrent dis- and misinformation without feeding into the hysteria/accusations of the far-right?
I am not aware of a book on race that is banned in the US. Which books are you talking about?
Democracy is sustained by investments in Education, equality before the rule of law, support for an sharing of local news, and guided by moral leadership at each level of government. An undeniable truth is crowds of people gathering in the streets to protest, forcing their voices be heard.
Democracy has always been threatened by demagoguery via new communications technology, excessive nationalism, inequality before the law (our current SCOTUS is an example today), restrictions on assembly, speech, restrictive voting rights, and divesting public education. Guns, and fear of political violence ( Jan 6th) as well as disease/lack of health care also threaten democracy. The aforementioned always grows stronger in an unregulated capitalistic society, as Oligarchy and wealth gap grows. But "A mind once enlightened can not again become dark." T. Paine
Not at the national leve, but in various school districts/locales: https://bannedbooksweek.org/ala-unveils-top-10-most-challenged-books-of-2020/
"More than 273 titles were challenged or banned in 2020, with increasing demands to remove books that address racism and racial justice or those that shared the stories of Black, Indigenous, or people of color. As with previous years, LGBTQ+ content also dominated the list."
It is interesting the way in which communications technology most often becomes the tool of the oppressor. Germany under the Third Reich had more radios per capita than any other country. Social media, at least for now, seems to be a tool for mistruths, propaganda, and authoritarianism, despite the high hopes of the Arab Spring.
Based on your last quote, I am assuming you would claim that the solution to rising nationalism (increased by Trump), legal inequalities (4th Amend has existed since Reagan's "War on Drugs"), and the crisis that ultimately makes people more malleable/desperate/accepting of authoritarianism (COVID vs. Great Depression) is education...? But, I think this is where American Conservatives have learned from the authoritarians of the past, wrapping up educational initiatives in ambiguous "savior" culture wars. I am deeply concerned with the direction of the United States (and the world), as a right-ward wave seems to be rolling across the world.
That looks like a good link. Is there one that says "where" or what states those are banned in? I bet I can guess which states. Two books on the ALA's list were part of my education, To Kill a Mocking bird and Of Mice and Men.
An assertion of power, isn't it, this law? Less about what it says than what it is. And demonstrating nothing so much as an absence of any effectively countervailing political will.