In this op-ed, Jack Weinstein, a Pardee School of Global Studies professor of the practice of international security, argues that the United States’ strategic tunnel vision is clouding our thinking on what it means to keep America safe. “We’re missing critical components of a comprehensive security strategy,” he writes. Weinstein says there are three things the country needs to do to improve national security: resourcing education as a national imperative; acknowledging America’s broken democracy; and making sure that every citizen is treated equally, regardless of income.
From book bans, teaching about race and use of preferred personal pronouns, educators are on the front lines of cultural flashpoints. The new American Family Survey found Americans oppose removing school library books but indicates low levels of support for transgender students.
South Carolina Republicans have tried to ban LGBTQ books from certain sections of libraries, while a PEN America report shows an explosion in attempts to ban books in school.
James Patterson, the best-selling author, has donated $2 million to PEN America to build communications capacity and help the premier writers’ organization speak louder in defense of free expression against evolving threats in the United States, online, and around the world.