‘I’ ON CULTURE
Language is funny. People use words and phrases in ways that turn out to have almost the opposite meaning of what is intended. A great case in point: Tucker Carlson, when asked whether or not he would become the vice presidential nominee with Donald Trump replied that is was as unlikely as a meteor hitting the earth. Actually, thousands of meteors hit the earth every year, which means it is really a daily occurrence. Carlson almost certainly meant there was no chance, but his example was the opposite.
We need to be careful in our use of words, particularly in terms of political debate. Think of words like “dictator” or “genocide,” where different sides in a disagreement have widely different definitions. A really nasty trigger word is “fascism.” It is used all the time and almost always wrongly. Fascism originally was an Italian variety of socialism, one that was sort of Marxism light. Religion was not only tolerated but brought into partnership. And the rich could keep their wealth. But freedoms were limited and people were organized ruthlessly. And, for a while, Italy thrived.
Eventually, those on the left tended to call any of their opponents, even those who mostly agreed with them, fascists or right wingers, even when a magnifying glass might be required to tell the difference between the arguing folk. For many, fascism has come to mean “political ideas you don’t like.”
I was reminded of that in a debate with a friend. He argued that Gov. DeSantis has unleashed fascism through banning books in schools. He noted that California does not allow books to be taken off shelves. Therefore, Florida was fascist. I pointed out, first, that no books were actually banned. Amazon sells just about any book. What DeSantis did was to allow parents to get involved in decisions in school libraries. And, yes, some of the complaints were foolish.
Democracy tends to be messy. For years, Huckleberry Finn, a book considered by some the finest American novel, was kept off shelves because a black character is often referred to by the “N word.” And, yes, it is in there. And very often. Should it be removed? Changed? Or perhaps, since it is likely to be read by older students, to have a discussion of why it seemed OK 150 years ago but not today? That would be a useful lesson.
On the other hand, the books mostly targeted tended to be those dealing with more adult themes. All of the arguments, some reasonable and some not, created messy discussions.
On the other hand, a California school would have no such arguments. And if Mein Kampf, Hitler’s screed, were on the shelves, parents could not complain. Even if they were Jewish and related to Holocaust survivors. Of course, librarians effectively ban books all the time since they select the ones being bought. But Gov. Newsom can proclaim that his state has freedom of speech.
But which state is fascist and which free? Florida does allow books to be taken from shelves if parents convince school boards to do it. In California, a parent complaint would be ignored.
So how can we define which state‘s methods are fascistic? The one which allows parents to intervene in book choices and keep books off school library shelves or the one that refuses to allow debate? We see this dichotomy in other places. A major Irish politician said that his country needed to keep people ignorant in order to protect freedom. My reactions was, “Huh?”
As I wrote earlier, democracy is messy. Different people and groups want different things. They argue over the meaning of words and protest government policies. Many politicians don’t like it and want the government to stop what they call “disinformation” and others call “truth that the political powers don’t like.” The best way to find truth is to read and listen to what all sides say, think about it and then decide based on your own experience.
If wanting people to know the truth and allowing things to get a bit messy in order to get there means that you are fascist, what does that say about the word? Or the world?