Conservatives attacking Americans’ First Amendment rights

I fondly recall my senior year in high school when Mary Beth Tinker, John Tinker and Christopher Eckhardt wore black armbands to their high school to protest the Vietnam War. Their suspension from school was cast around the thought that wearing armbands would disrupt learning.

In the landmark Tinker Supreme Court case, justices agreed students’ rights should be protected plus they refuted the school’s stance by candidly stating “Students don’t shed their constitutional rights at the school house gates.”

Many of today’s GOP-oriented governors and legislators, far right-wing groups, conservative media and Republican presidential candidates have either passed or supported book banning, anti-LGBTQIA and anti-racist curriculum laws. It’s a blatant attack on the constitutional rights of students, parents, teachers, general public and book authors.

Moms for Liberty (MFL) may be the most cited right-wing extremist group. Founded in 2021, MFL is referred by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as an anti-government and conspiracy propagandist group of 120,000 members in 285 chapters throughout 44 states who, among many beliefs, are anti-LGBTQIA, anti-gender identity and anti-inclusive educational curriculum.

MFL is associated with several chapters of the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, 3 Percenters, Gays Against Groomers and GOP’s affiliated Heritage Foundation.

The American Library Association reveals of the 2,571 book titles banned for censorship in 2022, 58 percent were targeted for schools and 41 percent were in public libraries. Hence, the organization is not only attacking students’ First Amendment rights but also adults.

No Left Turn in Education (NLTIE) urges parents to ban LGBTQIA rights and books categorized as anti-racism, anti-police, critical race theory and comprehensive sexuality education since those concepts don’t align with their autocratic agenda.

Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education (PDE), has been described as a “veteran political operative affiliated with the Koch network.” PDE is a group of “corporate school privatizers going hard right to attack school boards, superintendents, principals and teachers.”

According to the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Blog, “No Left Turn in Education, PDE and Moms for Liberty share inflammatory claims about `radical agendas’ to disguise their desire to engage in censorship and government control of intellectual freedom.” Book banning narrows students’ cultural understanding, world view and critical thinking capability.

Finally, there’s the Goldwater Institute (GI) who proudly states their aim is to control public school’s K-12 curriculum.

America was founded on the value and importance of free expression. According to John Stuart Mill’s essay On Liberty (1859), free speech must be protected from political, economic and social tyranny.

We are witnessing politicians and groups who want America to abandon its democratic roots and become an authoritarian country. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15).

Steve Corbin is professor emeritus of marketing at the University of Northern Iowa.