Commentary: Book-Banners Who Preach a War Between Good and Evil

By Linda Hart Green

A number of books have been removed from Nassau County school classrooms and libraries. The local group, Citizens Defending Freedom, was responsible for the challenges that led to the removal, citing materials found in violation of Florida Statute 847.012. Several books were removed due to lack of circulation, but all the others were deemed to have age-inappropriate sexual content.

You may be surprised to learn that those presenting the challenges do not have children or grandchildren in the school system. Why all the concern? The mission of this organization is stated as: “To resolve breaches of liberty through local awareness, local light and local action. To educate citizens on the value of the gospel of Jesus Christ and its influence on America’s founding.”

This group is a rebranding of Common Sense Fernandina, which was founded by Jack Knocke. He brought the group under the umbrella of the larger group, Citizens Defending Freedom, in January 2022.

Citizens Defending Freedom has active chapters in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Michigan, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The parent organization has a much farther national reach and is partnered with many other groups and organizations with similar goals. In an introductory video on the county group’s website, Mr. Jack Knocke, the group’s president, frames their overarching goal as a war between good and evil. Their website contains links to educational resources for parents for opting out of public education and homeschooling. They do not trust our teachers, principals, or school board to responsibly educate the children of our county despite its high overall rating. Hence, banning books is one of their goals.

Here is a brief list of some of the organizations supporting the mission of this group:

The Heritage Foundation, Alliance Defending Freedom for Faith and Justice, Florida Citizens’ Alliance, Turning Point USA, America’s Future, Patriot Academy, Liberty Counsel and Liberty Pastors. Grab a coffee and do some Googling to learn more.

The Heritage Foundation is an umbrella group encompassing many of these kinds of groups.

The Heritage Foundation is mapping out a plan for a conservative takeover of the U.S. government when Trump wins the presidency, called Project 2025. One of the best articles I have read about Project 2025 is a blog post by Kristin Du Mez.

Using inflammatory language layered with innuendo, the crisis our country faces is framed as a loss of liberty for the average American, including religious liberty. The overall term for this way of thinking and this movement is Christian Nationalism or White Christian Nationalism. The movement is a cultural fusion of religion and politics. There are many books and articles being written about this movement. One I have read is titled “The Flag and the Cross,” by Philip Gorski and Samuel L. Perry. There is also a website to check out: ChristiansAgainstChristianNationalism.org.

This group formed after Jan. 6, 2021, and is led by Amanda Tyler, who is also the executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.

Some common denominators for Christian nationalists are: fear and distrust of minorities, immigrants and refugees; approval of violence to secure their aims; belief that America is God-ordained to prosper; belief that men are better suited to leadership roles and women to roles in home and family; and that America was founded as a Christian nation from top to bottom.

How can they condone violence? It is condoned as “righteous” when it is defending property, the “correct” social order and the purity of the country. It holds cherished assumptions about who America was, is and will be, despite history. You can see why Mr. Knocke uses words like “we are at war” to defend his cause and why the former president freely uses inflammatory language to denigrate and dehumanize “the other.”

With everything else going on in the world, are book removals in our county in Northeast Florida a big deal? Yes, they are. Book bans are not innocuous and they are not an anomaly. They are a symptom of a far greater divide among our citizens as to how they view our country and what it needs and who should lead it. Do we still have a vision of an America that self-governs as “we, the people” or will we exchange democracy for a theocracy where a small group dictates who is in charge? Christian nationalism is not the answer. Christian nationalism is neither Christian nor patriotic. As Kristin Du Mez says in the introduction to her blog post, “If you are not paying attention, you ought to be.”

First published in the "Blue Pages" a monthly newsletter of the Democratic Club of Amelia Island.