Written By Thomas Hampson | 10.18.23
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Several essential characteristics separate humans from other mammals.
The most significant among them is our complex reasoning ability.
We can solve problems throughout the full range of our current awareness. We have a powerful capability to observe, collect, and analyze facts. We can formulate theories and design meticulous studies to test them out. And we can debate the meaning of the findings of those studies.
But can we openly challenge those with whom we disagree?
Governor J.B. Pritzker thinks we need the government’s thumb on the scales to ensure an open exchange of views. He recently praised the passage of HB 2789, which he signed into law this past June. He said:
“Illinois became the first state in the nation to ban book bans earlier this year. 2022 had the most attempted book bans on record for the ALA. It was time for us to act.
“Unlike Republicans, I want our children to read as much as they can and to read different perspectives.”
Who is banning books? What books are being banned? How big a problem is this? It all sounds very bad. The Governor went on in a post on X:
“Book bans are about censorship, marginalizing people, marginalizing ideas and facts. Regimes ban books, not democracies.
“Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, the Taliban’s Afghanistan. We refuse to let a vitriolic strain of white nationalism coursing through our country determine whose histories are told. Not in Illinois.”
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