Ron de Santis

 Every human intellectual endeavor has moved forward because of the creativity and sustained effort of those who courageously believed that the world could be a better and truer place. Pushback always came from those who fear change and the loss of privilege. They built walls of resistance that always crumbled.

Here we are in 21st century America—one of the world’s great powers—and we have Ron DeSantis leading Florida—and perhaps America--into a society of book banning, control of language in the classroom and limits on healthy sexual dialogue. Attacks on the LGBTQ community, drag shows and writers of children’s books become acceptable, as if this were some public scourge. When we most need students to be critical thinkers, we are training them to fear new ideas.

Where are the worries about gun violence, social inequity, drug use, homelessness and hunger in the lives of children? These are things that harm, not ideas.