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2 days agoI hated pretty much every book I had to read for school. I realize that some of the classic literature is consider classic for very good reasons, but all it did to teenage me was turn me off classic literature. And seriously, fuck everything about Dickens. The only Great Expectations in that book were the expectations of the teachers that the students could stay awake and alert while slogging through it.
That said, there are two common books in US high schools which I do think are worth a read: 1984 and A Brave New World. Neither should be particularly surprising, but both provide a good view into how a modern dystopian society might work. References also show up all over the place in modern society.
I’d go for the latter. The main reason being that banning Nazi ideology or speech is probably a violation of the First Amendment. Nazis are bad and their ideology is bad. But the First Amendment has been interpreted by the courts to prohibit government regulation of speech based on its content, except in very narrow circumstance. This usually means direct and specific threats.
Just to get in front of the usual counter examples folks try to use here. Yes, you can yell, “fire” in a crowded theater. In fact, if there is a fire, you really should. There is no prior restraint on yelling, “fire” in a crowded theater. Now, you might be held accountable for causing panic and injuries in the resulting stampede for the exits. But that is not the same as a prior restraint.
Slander is also not a prior restraint. I’m fact, it’s usually not a crime. It’s an actionable tort, a private cause for litigation.
I get it. Banning Nazis would feel really good. But it’s basically a dead issue while the First Amendment holds. There are better places to spend political capital than tilting at a windmill.