# Banning University Speakers, Literature, and Other Forms of Censorship in Education [Removing Aristotle from philosophy curriculum](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/opinion/should-we-cancel-aristotle.html) because he defended slavery seems like the logical next step after banning university speakers. I agree with the op-ed, I’m against both. I think we live in a society that is too polarized. Sometimes we proclaim tolerance, only to swiftly abandon it as soon as someone says something unconventional. Make no mistake, both sides of the political spectrum do this. I bet that if you pick a slightly more complicated liberal idea, preface it with “I agree with Trump on”, and present it to people most liberals won’t call you on it, they won’t even hear the rest of your argument. To them the words ‘Trump’ and ‘I agree’ will act like a stun grenade. The same will be true for Trump supporters, only they’ll automatically agree. A society that presents with symptoms like banning university speakers, ‘canceling’ philosophers, and a high taboo count is one that takes Aristotle and paradoxically refuses to think. I can't help but draw a parallel with the Bible: both require context and both contain views that are unacceptable in today's society. Whatever happened to actually exposing yourself to differing opinions in the hopes of rooting out the wrong ones you hold, as proposed by John Stuart Mill in [[On Liberty]]? Similar arguments can be applied to banning literature works like the Odyssey because they contain social norms that were acceptable at the time (article [Odyssey Banned for Violence, Sexism; Is this the End of World Classics?](https://greekreporter.com/2021/03/02/odyssey-banned-for-violence-sexism-is-this-the-end-of-world-classics/)). I feel that exposing children to outdated social norms like sexism and racism is beneficial because you get to ask them 'what's wrong with this picture?'. Sexism and racism should be openly discussed, and what better place to do it than a classroom, where teachers can moderate discussions among children, driving them to come to correct conclusions themselves, instead of expecting them to blindly follow dictated norms.