Not to restart the whole “DeSantis is a Deep State boll weevil” discussion, mind; certainly, he’s amply demonstrated himself to be an extremely ambitious ProPol at best, which is in no way a compliment. That said, though, he does just keep on doing good and worthwhile things as FLA Guv, if only in spite of himself, perhaps.
Ron DeSantis wants to teach young people about communism. He should use rock ‘n’ roll
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has written a bill that requires teaching on the history of communism in Florida public schools, beginning in the 2026-2027 school year. DeSantis wants students inoculated against the evils of Marxism.It’s a great idea. One suggestion — use rock ‘n’ roll in the lesson plan.
Rock ‘n’ roll is an exciting, popular art form geared toward young people. It also has a proud (and largely ignored) history of anti-communism.
In their book, The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What’s Wrong with America, Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch, who both work for the libertarian outfit Reason, reveal the often hidden history of popular music as a weapon against totalitarianism. In the chapter “Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World,” they detail how the music helped defeat communism.
As Welch and Gillespie note, Vaclav Havel and the leaders of the 1960s revolt against communism in Czechoslovakia were deeply influenced by American rock and roll, particularly the band the Velvet Underground. A group of young Czech hippies formed the group the Plastic People of the Universe, named after a Frank Zappa lyric, and were soon banned by the government. A fan of the Rolling Stones, Havel saw and heard in rock and roll “a temperament, a nonconformist state of the spirit, an anti-establishment orientation, an aversion to philistines, and an interest in the wretch and humiliated.”
It’s an exciting piece of history. DeSantis should add it to Florida’s new pro-freedom curriculum.
A sound idea all around, to my way of thinking.
I always said he should stay in FL and keep doing great things there.
The time for him was 2028.
He’s tainted now but can be rehabilitated. But 2028 is far, far away and not worth thinking about.
Go Ron, keep on keeping Florida Great.