Democracy: the esteemed pillar of American values that many deem as the foundational bedrock of the United States of America. An educated society is essential for a thriving democracy, as it empowers citizens to engage in critical discourse, make informed decisions, and safeguard democratic principles. Yet, with 54 percent of American adults holding literacy skills below a sixth-grade level, the majority of our country lacks the necessary skills to support a functioning democracy and identify a threatened one.
In spite of America’s literacy crisis, the current Trump administration has aggressively targeted the Department of Education—cutting funding, reducing its workforce, and rolling back policies designed to promote educational equity—with the goal of dismantling the agency and weakening public education. The systematic attack on education by far-right movements is a deliberate political strategy aimed at suppressing critical thinking, limiting access to diverse perspectives, and undermining democratic institutions. By censoring curriculum, defunding public education, and replacing scholarly expertise with ideological conformity, conservative forces seek to dismantle intellectual freedom and erode the very foundation of democracy. This coordinated effort not only stifles dissent, but also conditions future generations to accept authoritarian rule, making the fight for educational integrity an urgent battle in the broader defense of democratic values.
A democracy is only as strong as its education system. The principles of democracy consider education as a universal human right. Effective democracies are dynamic forms of government that demand independent thinking from their citizens for the betterment of society. Under democratic values, the opportunity for positive social and political change is intended to rest in the hands of citizens and determined through ongoing discussions and research. As informed citizens are better positioned to improve their nation’s legislation and governing bodies, quality education is vital to the survival of a democracy. However, the current administration’s deliberate weakening of public education threatens this foundation, which relies on an informed and engaged citizenry.
Fascism and the Historical Assault on Education
Fascism is a mass political movement that emphasizes extreme nationalism, militarism, and the supremacy of the nation over the individual. Fascist regimes often seek to control and restrict education, fearing that an informed populace could challenge their authority and ideological dominance. The Trump administration’s actions reflect these same authoritarian tendencies, using funding cuts and curriculum restrictions to suppress critical perspectives and reinforce a nationalist, revisionist version of history.
Historically, the far-right has sought to undermine education, recognizing it as a powerful source of societal progression. From the Scopes Trial—where a high school teacher was prosecuted for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution—to Engel v. Vitale—when the Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot encourage prayer in public schools—public education has maintained its position as a political battlefield in the United States. These trials have been pivotal in shaping the debate over the role of traditional values in academic spaces, highlighting the ongoing struggle between conservative ideology and academic freedom. By framing education as a threat to their ideological dominance, the far-right has consistently pushed for policies that limit academic freedom and promote a revisionist curriculum that aligns with their worldview.
Due to the Trump administration’s funding cuts, West Virginia University is shutting down nearly 10 percent of its academic offerings. Several high schools in Arkansas no longer offer credit for students taking the Advanced Placement (AP) course for African American History, effectively discouraging students from enrolling in the class and allowing a whitewashed, biased view of history to remain the dominant narrative in education. The push to restrict education aligns with a broader effort by extreme conservatives to exert greater control over public schools, framing their actions as a defense of “parents’ fundamental right to direct the upbringing and education” of their children. The new Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act would allow parents to bring legal action if they believe a violation of their parental rights is occurring.
Although the far-right attempts to portray themselves as heroes, fighting for the democratic right of parents to censor their childrens’ education, they blatantly reject the democratic value of learning as a public good in itself in favor of promoting conformity and anti-intellectualism. The current administration’s political moves, such as threatening to defund public schools with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and supplementing academic materials with conservative ideology, reflect fascist ambitions to impose indoctrination into public education.
The Rise of Censorship and Anti-Intellectualism
The Trump administration attempts to censor content under the rationality of returning American academics back to “facts over feelings.” However, it simultaneously disregards the findings of individuals most qualified to articulate such “facts,” unless those individuals support the desired right-wing agenda. The removal of expertise from our academic spaces is extremely dangerous for American students and democracy, as it enables a small number of people to interject their personal priorities for a child’s education into the school curriculum for all students.
This emphasis on giving individual perspectives as much weight as evidence-based facts leads to an unhealthy conflation of opinions with truth, faith with science, and memory with history. Limiting student’s access to expert-developed materials that introduce them to new ideas reduces their ability to analyze sources for reliability and accuracy, making our society more vulnerable to propaganda and brainwashing.
In Florida, K-12 public schools can now supplement their curricula teachings with cartoons developed by Prager University Foundation: a far-right, non-accredited institution that promotes radical conservative ideas like advocating for the use of fossil fuels and sanitizing the harrowing details of American history. In PragerU’s educational video, “Leo & Layla Meet Christopher Columbus,” an animated Columbus describes the natives as “far from peaceful,” and defends slavery by stating, “Being taken as a slave is better than being killed, no? I don’t see the problem.”
While far-right conservatives continue to argue that these policy changes aim to “remove liberal indoctrination” from schools, they inject instructions that conform to their own ideologies. With America’s long record of racial inequality and systemic oppression of minorities, students need an uncensored and unbiased education on the US’ true history to confront and understand the societal issues we face today, even when the truth is uncomfortable.
Legislative Attacks on Education
From public education institutions facing the risk of losing federal funding to the banning of books, current legislation is just the latest in a long line of attempts to denounce knowledge, intimidate curiosity, and discourage individuals from critical thinking. In March 2023, Florida lawmakers enacted two laws dedicated to limiting access to information in public education: “Stop Wrongs to Our Kids & Employees (WOKE) Act” and the “Parental Rights in Education” Bill (better known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill).
Rob DeSantis’s Stop-WOKE Act “prohibits educational institutions and businesses from teaching students and employees anything that would cause anyone to feel guilt, anguish or any form of psychological distress due to their race, color, sex or national origin.” The goal of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill is to ban classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in Florida’s primary schools. These legislative acts actively stifle critical contextual facts about America’s dark history and limit broader awareness of the society we live in.
Though the stated intention of the Stop-WOKE act was to remove liberal indoctrination in public education and prevent students from feeling guilty about historic injustices, legal professionals believe that the bill is an attempt to shield students from learning about institutional racism: the idea that racial discrimination is not just the consequence of a few racist individuals but a structured system that is ingrained into our country’s institutions. By preventing students from learning about institutional racism and the white supremacy it upholds, young people are less likely to question our systems of oppression.
Florida legislator Joe Harding drafted the “Don’t Say Gay” bill to empower parents to create boundaries at an early age of what is appropriate in schools. Though the bill’s supporters intend to protect “the fundamental rights of parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control of their children,” LGBTQ+ activists fear the law will restrict education on sexual and gender identities and cultivate hostile school climates for LGBTQ+ educators, students, and families.
These measures are not just symptoms of an ongoing culture war between the left and the right, but fascist tactics to promote conformity, limit critical thinking, and erase the presence of minorities in academic spaces. The US Department of Education’s threat to cut federal funding for schools with diversity programs endangers the representation of marginalized groups in academia, where they are already underrepresented. Furthermore, the Department of Education recently announced in March that it plans to eliminate almost 50 percent of its workforce as the Trump administration proceeds with its plans to dismantle the agency. As the Department of Education oversees critical responsibilities, including distributing federal financial aid and enforcing non-discrimination policies in school, academics have expressed concern over the presence and safety of minority students in public schools.
Global and Historical Parallels
Unfortunately, the rise of facism and oppression of education is not exclusive to the United States. Narendra Modi, India’s autocratic nationalist Prime Minister, has characterized his administration with his constant political assaults on India’s elite universities, claiming that they’re “anti-India.” Victor Orban, Hungary’s Prime Minister, has started a political campaign bombardment on the Central European University in Budapest due to his prejudice against their gender-related courses. These occurrences parallel with historical fascist attacks on education from the Stalin regime and the Nazi Party, exemplifying how fascist regimes across different periods, countries, and contexts have consistently used education as a form of suppression.
History warns us of what happens when democracy is eroded: the suppression of diverse thought, the weakening of open debate, and the loss of collective responsibility. Yet, it is in our educational institutions—especially higher education—that democracy finds its strongest anchor. One of the sharpest weapons against a threatened democracy is education and the truth. Knowledge is a power that no institution, leader, or enemy can take away.
As the Trump administration attempts to shield Americans from difficult or differing perspectives, we must question our systems and enrich our intellect to fight for the future that justice demands and humanity deserves. A democratic republic requires not just diverse perspectives but the ability to assess them critically. Restricting intellectual freedom will not only stunt the next generation’s ability to articulate arguments, but will also blind them to the sobering realities of the world. Whether we call it fascism or not, the greatest danger we face is ignorance itself.
