this week, rep. jamie raskin, chairman of the subcommittee on civil rights and civil liberties, held a hearing on censorship of books in the united states. the hearing was just the latest attempt to draw attention to the right-wing crusade to control what young people read. over the past year, politicians introduced more than 60 educational gag orders to “prohibit teachers from discussing certain topics related to race, gender, and American history in the classroom.” and new radical groups continue to push this crusade even further; Moms for Freedom, which was established last year, promises $500 to anyone who reports a teacher.
But conservatives aren’t the only censors. California Governor Gavin Newsom inadvertently, albeit hilariously, made this point when he posted a photo of himself “reading some banned books to find out” what Republican states are “so afraid” of. No one apparently told him that the stack of books in the photo included one banned in the state he runs, To Kill a Mockingbird, which was banned from California schools for containing racism.
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Today, the left is waging its own crusade against authors, publishers, and teachers. Freedom Moms has a left-wing mirror image in We Need Diverse Books and Disruptive Texts, groups at the forefront of movements trying to cancel, rewrite, and censor picture books, young adult novels, and American classics taught in K-schools. -12 .
around the time dr. As Seuss books were pulled from library and bookstore shelves, Newsweek reported that videos of liberals burning Harry Potter books were “spreading like wildfire on TikTok.” In a video, a book burner condemns “racism” and “harmful fatphobia” at J.K. Rowling’s most famous work.
Not to be outdone by liberals, Global Vision Bible Church Senior Pastor Greg Locke led a crowd of Christians into the woods of Tennessee. As part of a series on “demon deliverance”, Locke invited his congregation to burn Harry Potter, Twilight and other “occult materials”.
The truth is there is a moral panic on both sides when it comes to books: books are turning children into witches! books are turning children into Marxists! books are turning children into racists! books are turning kids into fatphobes! You have to burn the books!
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is reminiscent of the moral panic over comics during the 1950s, when everyone from the Communist Party to the Catholic Church blamed juvenile delinquency on comics. And then, as now, even in the absence of state censorship, the costs to comic book writers and sellers were real; Between 1954 and 1956, half of the comic strips on newsstands disappeared. authors who held out were pressured to conform.
decades later, new book burners are concerned about prejudice. And just as the moral panic around comics came about in response to a real rise in juvenile delinquency, it is not surprising that the left’s moral crusade for books for young people has erupted at a time when the right controls the court. Supreme Court, most state governorates, and most state legislatures. For legitimate reasons, liberals are concerned about threats to minorities.
but the idea that better books will defeat racism, transphobia, and other bigotry is simply not supported by research.
Elizabeth Levy Paluck of Princeton University and Donald P of Columbia University. Green evaluated nearly 1,000 bias reduction studies, including field experiments focused on literature read by children and young adults. As they say, “psychologists are a long way from demonstrating the most effective ways to reduce bias. Due to weaknesses in the internal and external validity of existing research, the literature does not reveal if, when, and why interventions reduce bias.” prejudices in the world.”
on the right, book burners are also worried; It’s no surprise that all these educational gag orders and right-wing groups like Freedom Moms sprung up when the left was trying to institutionalize what John McWhorter calls the new religion of anti-racism. From Pastor Greg’s bonfire to Gov. Ron Desantis’ “stop w.o.k.e act,” conservatives believe that censoring youth books is how they will make America great again.
however, in all my years researching literature at harvard, cornell and elsewhere, I have never come across evidence suggesting that books have a “demonic” influence on young readers. I have also found no evidence to suggest that children’s and young adult books are turning the next generation into “postmodern Marxists” who hate men, white people, capitalism, marriage, and America.
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Of course, it’s easier to burn harry potter, my two dads and me than it is to talk to young people about why they’re becoming more secular and progressive on social issues. lighting a match is much easier than persuasion.
Moral crusaders love easy solutions to complex problems. it is easier to ask “how does the literary canon reinforce the logic of the incel?” or bring a copy of anti-racist baby to the senate confirmation hearing for ketanji brown jackson to speak to our fellow citizens about their views.
ever since john milton’s areopagitica, people have pointed out that eradicating bad ideas in books leaves many other places open to the same ideas and even worse ideas. In the age of facebook, twitter, youtube, reddit, tiktok, netflix, hulu, playstation, xbox, spotify, pornhub, cable tv, and hollywood movies, milton’s point couldn’t be truer: today, burn this or that book is just as effective as leaning against windmills.
In the end, one doesn’t need to be a ray bradbury scholar to understand that, as he said in his coda to fahrenheit 451, “there’s more than one way to burn a book. and the world is full of people running around with lit matches “.
adam szetela is a doctor. student in the department of english at cornell university.
The opinions of this article are those of the author.
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