'Bad faith arguments' by politicians, school authorities are assaults on civility | Opinion
Recently I attended a talk by N.K. Jemison, a renowned science fiction author. Her work reflects some of her experiences as a Black woman in our society. She was asked about current controversies surrounding public and school libraries. For example, almost 300 books have been banned by school districts in Missouri under the state’s “sexually explicit material” law. These include works by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, a copy of Reader’s Digest, The Children’s Bible and books about the Holocaust. In 2022, The Oklahoman published a list of books banned in Oklahoma.
Some of Jemison’s books have ended up on banned book lists. She said she takes this as a compliment, and raised the issue of “bad faith arguments.” I do not know if my understanding matches that of Jemison’s, but to me, bad faith arguments are made to promote or defend a position that masks a deeper agenda.
Banning books in school libraries is ostensibly done in order to protect children, but the real issue is power or control. Banning books about trans or gay people is an attempt to suppress information that could help young people be better informed about sexuality. It is part of a landscape of attempted sexual oppression. Interference with teachers’ ability to select curricular materials is another example of bad faith arguments at work.
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The “critical race theory” controversy is a case in point. Critical race theory, which I have taught in years past, has nothing to do with the history that teachers seek to share with their students. That history is ignominious ― it chronicles the deep harms and injustices that Black and Indigenous peoples suffered at the hands of white people. Suppressing that history is an attempt to erase the sins of the past and undermine present-day claims of people of color.
Bad faith arguments in all of their forms are assaults on civility, and indeed, on a democratic society. When these arguments are made by politicians and school authorities, they suppress freedom of speech and limit education. They are nothing short of blatant power grabs. Censorship is not about protecting anyone. It is about controlling information and people. According to the 2022 article in Education Week that I cited earlier, one district in Missouri ― Wentzville, just west of St. Louis ― was responsible for 220 of the 297 books that Missouri banned. School personnel who violate Senate Bill 775, the law banning the books, could face up to a year in jail or a fine of up to $2,000.
Bad faith arguments and the political ploys that motivate them should be called out and resisted. Educating future citizens about all aspects of human life is vital for the healthy functioning of democracy. John Stuart Mill, a philosopher writing in England during the 1800s, referred to the “marketplace of ideas.” In a democracy, the marketplace of ideas allows for free and vigorous discussion of all ideas, without arbitrary restriction from the government. Mill believed that false or harmful ideas will be culled through this process.
One thing is certain. History has taught us that, despite authoritarian power plays, truth cannot be suppressed.
Nancy E. Snow is a professor of philosophy at the University of Kansas. She formerly was a philosophy professor at the University of Oklahoma and director of the Institute for the Study of Human Flourishing.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Banning books is a 'bad faith argument' from school authorities
