McKone: Keeping books out of the hands of future generals | Perspective

In response, The New York Times reported, the senior librarian at West Point announced he was taking a job elsewhere, and at least two tenured professors resigned.

“A history professor who leads a course on genocide was instructed not to mention atrocities committed against Native Americans, according to several academy officials,” the Times reported. “The English department purged works by well-known Black authors, such as Toni Morrison, James Baldwin and Ta-Nehisi Coates, the officials said.”

The Times published the list of 381 books the U.S. Naval Academy removed from its library shelves. The emphasis is on books related to race, diversity, DEI, gender and sexuality, feminism, and ugly parts of our history, such as the Ku Klux Klan and lynching.

There are some literary classics, like Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” recent bestsellers, like Robin DiAngelo’s “White Fragility,” and popular book club reads, like Stacy Abrams’ “Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America.”

“What’s Your Pronoun?: Beyond He & She,” by Dennis Baron, is on the list of banned books, and so is Heather McGhee’s “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together.” McGhee’s very engaging book emphasizes working together: Is that divisive, un-American or irrational?

Ihram X. Kendi’s “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America” was pulled from the shelves, as was his, “How To Be Anti-Racist.” I guess Hegseth doesn’t want our troops to know we have a racist past, and if, by chance, they discover we do, he doesn’t want them to do anything about it.

Some are on the obscure side, clearly intended for limited, academic audiences, including some analyses of old literature. I can’t imagine Catherine S. Cox’s “Gender and Language in Chaucer” making any bestseller lists; however, anyone who has read much Chaucer knows that book sounds right on target. But you never can tell what danger lurks in a book about a 14th-century book written in Middle English. Is there more to it than the bawdy wyf of Bathe?

I have read works by all of the authors listed above, and all but two of the books I mentioned; none of them is inflammatory or beyond the scope of what reasonable adults might believe or argue. But even if they were, we’re talking about intelligent, future American leaders. Shouldn’t they be able to read whatever they want, and judge for themselves?

Of the 381 books, there are some I suspect are pretty far out there; however, I’m not going to name and disparage a book I haven’t read and of which I have little or no info. But, again, we’re not talking about shocking little kids: We’re talking about — hopefully — our best and brightest.

The list includes the award-winning young adult novel, “The Hate U Give,” by Angie Thomas, which was the Vermont Humanities 2020 Vermont Reads selection; thousands of Vermonters read it, and met to talk about it. It remains very popular with teens.

Putting aside, for the moment, the many injustices and dangers of banning books, in general, doing so at the college level is beyond absurd. Does Hegseth want military leaders to be ignorant of our past and the challenges and controversies we face today? How can they participate in making this a better country if they don’t know what is going on and what people are thinking about?

Of course, the goal of the Trump administration is not to promote knowledge or good education. Quite the opposite, they want to stop people from thinking. The subtitle of one book on the banned list, Christopher J. Lebron’s “The Making of Black Lives Matter: A Brief History of an Idea,” is what Trump’s book banning is all about — ideas. We’re not supposed to have them. We’re supposed to accept what we’re told.

Dr. Carla D. Hayden, the librarian of Congress — the first African American and first woman to hold that position — was recently fired in a brief email that gave no cause, but Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said her DEI positions were part of the reason.

It’s all part of the plan: Libraries, schools, museums, national parks, cultural events, news reports and everything else needs to be in the image and world view of the narcissist in the White House.

After initially asking superintendents to affirm they are complying with federal demands that schools end “illegal DEI,” Vermont Education Secretary Zoie Saunders backed down, and responded to the federal Department of Education request for certification the state was complying with Trump’s anti-DEI efforts, with a letter stating Vermont schools are complying with federal anti-discrimination laws and will continue diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

So here we are with the federal government absurdity not allowing America’s future generals to read books that, in some cases, millions of Americans are reading — books that groups of retired folks are reading and talking about, and that high school students are avidly reading for class and on their own.

What threat does reading a book present? Maybe it will reinforce what you already believe. Maybe it will help you to better understand other people — including those with whom you disagree. Maybe it will give you new perspectives or change your mind.

Ah, there’s the rub: Maybe you will think on your own. What a divisive, un-American, irrational idea. …

Tom McKone is a former teacher, principal and library administrator. He lives in Montpelier.