We Cannot Discount the Role of the Humanities in our Pursuit of Equality and Fight Against Fascism

You can tell who skipped their Humanities classes because they are often the same people who show a general disregard for what is currently happening in the US; they have no hesitancy in supporting a bellicose blister on the heel of our society; and they often lack the comprehension about how their actions, or inaction, affect our nation and, beyond that, our world as a whole. Critical thinking is a paramount skill, and it is something that is intrinsic to, say, the study of  English as an academic discipline taught in schools and universities, which is why the disregard for the humanities is so dangerous.  

Historically ignorance, disregard, or animosity for the humanities have been threatening forerunners of infringement on people's rights, liberties and self-expression. The destruction of these vessels for knowledge warps our understanding of the world; libraries and books have been famously targeted throughout our histories, as far back as the Roman empire and the Qin Dynasty. These empires burned books as a way of maintaining power, keeping knowledge guarded under their political sphere in order to keep them from the hands of the masses. Knowledge in this way was hoarded like the valuable treasure that it is and kept in the clamped fist of imperial rule. In this way knowledge became the true treasure of the elite; it wasn’t just wealth and land but literacy and these key tools for revolution, advocacy and greater thought–which were locked away such that only those already in positions of power had access to them. Revolution is much harder when there are no words for it, when the terminology and brilliance of shared thought are kept constrained and unequal. Today we still face separations like these; Books that discuss topics such as queer identity, racial justice or even certain feminist movements are being banned in parts of the country, states like Florida have in the past enacted censorship laws that enable books that discuss certain topics (race and gender) to be restricted and not taught by educators. 

Knowledge and literacy is so crucial because it is something that can be both used to control the masses as well as to break free from systems of oppression. For example, Martin Luther’s disdain for the church and their selling of indulgences. Luther ended up translating the Bible into German so that more people were able to read and understand the biblical verses that ran their community and took power away from the (at the time) corrupt church. Hate groups too have famously burned books to create a steep divide and help establish rhetorics of hate and close-minded ignorance. Not only did the Nazis burn their own books within Germany to keep the masses unquestioning and unknowledgeable, but they bombed much of Europe's libraries during World War II because they feared the influence of other cultures, they feared the challenge to their regime, and they feared they would lose control over the masses if they had unregulated access to information, unregulated access that libraries allow and encourage.   

George Orwell’s 1984,  a novel Orwell wrote due to his fear of growing totalitarianism, highlights burning books as a key in establishing a fascist empire that controls not only people and their autonomy but their very thoughts. Burning books creates rhetorics of enforced ignorance, of division and limitation of knowledge and demagoguery and cleansing access to certain knowledge establishes a censorship, a framework that then imposes on people a way of thinking that is in a way exactly like George Orwell's ‘Groupthink.’ By purging certain books you mold the structure of thought; a framework is created and propaganda flourishes without inhibitions from its more critical fellows. 

Critical thinking comes from this valuable originator: critique. The academic discipline of English is deeply tied to this aspect of critique; when imbibing information critique is the careful analysis and questioning of what is being consumed. Critique then turns us all into picky eaters– questioning the origin, the quality, the ingredients and the reasoning behind what is being ingested. Critical thinking is then the application of this: a comprehensive amalgamation of why we believe what we believe, the tracking of where information is, where it comes from in the histories that follow societal patterns and a broader understanding of our world. In a world with widespread social media, opinions posed as facts and numerous rhetorics regardless of political party critical thinking has become more necessary than ever before. Education, learning, and reading is paramount for our society and the humanities are the clarifier that leads a path forward.  

There is also an unfortunate relationship between the level of education someone receives and who then in turn receives their vote. Barring the compunction-less one-percenters, a majority of Trump supporters do not have above a high school education. In 2020 according to CNN exit polls “Trump got the support of about two-thirds of White voters without a college degree, but he lost White college-educated voters.” People are often willing to believe the first things told to them, they don’t know how to ask the right questions or where to look or who to believe and how to fact check or are so apathetic that they don’t care to do so.  They don’t understand the broader and embarrassing historical context that will follow them and stain our country. They don’t recognize the arriviste that they have invited into our politics. They are unwilling to change their minds because their minds were never open to anything but their own echo chambers which  have allowed extreme group polarization and division, furthered by social media. They do not know what fascism is. Adorno states that Fascism is when there is the perceived freedom of expression but without rights. It is the facade of actual freedom hidden in the shadows of oppression, and it distracts enough of the masses to keep people complacent.  

Whether intentional or not, our society has become similar to empires before it; the education gap that has been established in our country is an embarrassing failure, especially in a developed country, our nation has become not a place of individual independents, full of opportunity and ambition but instead it has bifurcated into those able to access good education and those unable to. Trump has explicitly stated that he wishes to shut down the Department of Education citing that he believes it to be an overreach into American’s lives. One of the things the Department of Education does is to provide financial aid to students who cannot afford higher education. Dismantling the Department of Education would limit access to higher education and once again education and knowledge would become an expensive commodity that the wider community will be unable to reach. Although it is unlikely that Trump will be successful in shutting down the Department of Education, the fact that an American President has an expressed interest in limiting educational opportunities and access to certain American constituencies is deeply troubling and problematic. Already our country is leaning towards this division, and our very reason and way of thinking is called into question.   

While indeed this is all dire, we are not without options, choices, and chances. In order to help advance equality, people need to ask questions, read books, talk to their neighbors, friends, family and consider enrolling in a Humanities course. The enemy of ignorance lies within this companionship, and communication. People should continue to strive and advocate for equity and equal access to education, and continue to disrupt established systems that benefit the elite. Ensuring more equal access to education may help in promoting the democracy that you desire to see and live in and will help everyone to appreciate the important role of the humanities