Iowa Legislature’s censorship of public education is irresponsible

I was disappointed to read of Iowa Republicans’ unrelenting campaign to deny public school children the opportunity to discover and discuss gender identity in an educational setting (“Iowa lawmakers advance bill prohibiting partnerships between public schools and libraries,” Feb. 5, Maya Marchel Hoff, and “Iowa bills would expand classroom ban, curb local LGBTQ protections,” Tom Barton, Feb. 4).

Acquisition of knowledge and development of critical thinking skills are prerequisites to success in a complex multicultural world and to service as responsible citizens in a democratic republic. Broad access and exposure to information and different perspectives in a safe learning environment are essential to achieving those objectives.

It is folly to assume students will not be exposed outside of school to information and opinion inconsistent with their own understanding. The internet is pervasive; news and opinion media sources are unlimited. If a student lacks access, classmates won’t, and most will be happy to share what they see, the more extreme and provocative the better. Legislators’ abdication of responsibility for children’s education to the internet and media is irresponsible.

I suspect legislators’ actions are grounded in their supporters’ belief that Christian faith condemns LGBTQ+ people and denies anything but assignment of gender at birth. They ought to read Norman Sherman’s recent essay, “The Vance doctrine: division and suspicion” (Jan. 12), in which Mr. Sherman castigates my former Ohio Senator for asserting the United States is a Christian nation and his unChrist-like behavior.

Religious faith has no place in state legislation. The United States is not “one nation under [Christian God].” The Founders embraced the rule of law, exercise of reason, and values of individual human dignity and personal freedom, including as to religious beliefs and practice. They aspired to liberty and justice “for all” and sought to protect minorities from a transient majority’s legislative tyranny by including the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution.

My disappointment and views are grounded in personal experience. I attended Cedar Rapids public schools from eighth through 12th grade (fall 1967 to spring 1972). I treasure that experience and credit it for much of my subsequent personal growth.

It was a tumultuous time — widespread discrimination against nonwhites and women, initial implementation of the Civil Rights Act and War on Poverty, assassinations of MLK and RFK, urban race riots, the Vietnam War, Woodstock, Kent State, and, dare I say, an explosion of “sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.”

My family background was business-oriented and supportive of law and order and the status quo. Many of my high school social studies teachers were recent graduates of universities that were hotbeds of antiestablishment thinking, rhetoric and protest.

Sociopolitical issues were contentious and confusing. But students and teachers confronted them head-on, challenging each other’s assumptions and opinions. I cannot recall on which issues my views changed, but discussing them with reason and respect in an educational environment was itself a valuable learning experience. (Notably, history has proved the establishment didn’t deserve much support.)

Willful ignorance and denial of others’ reality promotes fear, misunderstanding, division, uninformed judgment, discrimination and conflict — we see a lot of that today. Iowa Republicans are sacrificing the state’s future. I commend to them “Why we leave” (Aug. 18, 2024) in which an intelligent young native Iowan explained why she would never return.

Bruce Gabriel practiced law in a global law firm for more than 44 years after graduating in 1972 from Cedar Rapids John F. Kennedy Senior High School, 1976 from Coe College and 1980 from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law and Kellogg Graduate School of Management He lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio.