President Donald Trump has signed more than 70 executive orders in the first month of his second term. Out of those 70, at least 16 impact marginalized communities. The orders enforce discriminatory policies, from barring transgender people from serving in the military and eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, to stopping immigrants from gaining citizenship.
This contributes to an attempted culture shift in the United States: To be normal and accepted, you must be white, male, Christian, cisgender and heterosexual.
This ideology greatly impacts our youth. From the moment they can comprehend it, they learn there’s something wrong with them if they don’t fall under those identifiers. We’re creating a culture that forbids children from experiencing, accepting and expressing other ways of life.
One enforcer of this culture is book bans. PEN America, a nonprofit organization that advocates for free expression through the advancement of literature and human rights, recorded 10,046 instances of book bans in the 2023-2024 school year.
Of the most commonly banned, 44% featured people of color and 39% featured LGBTQ+ people. The reason these books are targeted is because themes of social injustice, racial diversity, LGBTQ+ experiences and more are considered “inappropriate.”
I agree some topics, such as excessive violence and sexual content, shouldn’t be exposed to young children. But I don’t believe a memoir about exploring your gender identity or a teen’s guide to sex and relationships should be removed from middle school libraries.
They need to learn what it’s like to be gay or Black from such an author to learn how to support their gay or Black friends. They need to learn about someone’s experience with gender identity and expression in case they feel uncomfortable with their own. They need to learn about relationships and sexual health for when such topics arise in their lives.
We also shouldn’t stop drag queens from reading stories to kids. In 2023, Montana became the first state to ban people dressed in drag from reading to children at public schools and libraries. This ban was different from ones in Florida and Tennessee, which targeted performances considered sexual.
Although this bill was temporarily blocked, the fact it was proposed and considered is disgusting. Why are we more concerned about drag queens reading to children than we are about firearms, the leading cause of death for children in the U.S.?
It shouldn’t matter if someone in drag is reading to children because at least they’re promoting literature and community – that’s more than the politicians trying to ban books are doing.
And when politicians do enforce books, it’s religious texts that shouldn’t be in schools. Last year, Oklahoma’s State Superintendent Ryan Walters said all public schools would be required to teach the Bible. His guidelines said students would analyze literary elements of biblical stories and identify how they’ve impacted Western culture. Classrooms were also required to have a physical copy of the Bible, the Ten Commandments, the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
Did we forget about the First Amendment? “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” What message do these guidelines send to children who don’t practice Christianity? Their religion isn’t as important for their classmates and the U.S. to learn about.
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These instances contribute to a culture where we have set harmful norms. Where it’s OK to call something “gay” if it’s weird or ugly. Where immigrants from other countries can’t find a home in the “land of the free.” Where our constitution says to not enforce a religion, but we have “In God, We Trust” written on our money.
Children need to learn about experiences other than their own to develop empathy and self-awareness. Children need to learn about other cultures and identities in case the ones they align with begin to feel foreign to them.
But why has all this been allowed to happen? Because we’ve let it.
Politicians can make these decisions because we give them power. We vote for people who don’t have the public’s best interest in mind, giving them the power to harm – and your children watch you make these decisions.
Your daughters see you vote against their rights to reproductive health care. Your son sees you vote against his right to marry his boyfriend. Your nonbinary child sees you vote against the recognition of their identity.
Not all of us, but enough of us – enough people believe in these ideals and push people into the government who can enforce them.
The irony of it all is children learn “The Golden Rule” very early in their education, “treat others how you want to be treated,” but the adults have forgotten this rule. Treat others how you want to be treated, unless they’re a woman, person of color, LGBTQ+, an immigrant or not Christian. In which case, treat them with the most disrespect you can.
Let’s remind ourselves of this rule. Not just when we’re interacting with others, but also at the polls. Would you want your politicians to take away your rights? Then don’t let them take away others.
Taylor Powers is a sophomore double majoring in journalism and media and communication. She is the assistant opinion editor for The Student and edits for The Miami Student Magazine. She’s also a PR chair for Miami Dance Corps.
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