Author says Naval Academy canceled his lecture over reference to books removed from library

[essentialsaltes]

BALTIMORE — The Naval Academy canceled a speech by author and podcaster Ryan Holiday after he declined a request not to reference 381 books and literary works removed from its library as part of a review of diversity, equity and inclusion materials, according to an opinion piece he authored for The New York Times.

['We're not censoring anything, and we'll censor anyone who says we are.']

Holiday, who has hosted a series of lectures on the virtues of Stoicism to midshipmen for the past four years, was scheduled to speak to the sophomore class on the theme of wisdom on April 14.

“As an author, I believe deeply in the power of books,” Holiday wrote in The Times. “As a bookstore owner in Texas, I have spoken up about book banning many times already. More important was the topic of my address: the virtue of wisdom.

“As I explained repeatedly to my hosts, I had no interest in embarrassing anyone or discussing politics directly. I understand the immense pressures they are under, especially the military employees, and I did not want to cause them trouble. I did, however, feel it was essential to make the point that the pursuit of wisdom is impossible without engaging with (and challenging) uncomfortable ideas.”

 

[Laodicean60]

Stop it! It makes me want to rob a bank and take my family to a foreign country. The extremism in my country is driving me nuts!

 

[Aryeh Jay]

Thankfully not everyone resorts to violence against innocent people. I am more than likely going to walk into my bank and withdraw my money from my account without shooting the place up and possibly hurting people, go to my sailboat where my family will be waiting, and sail to southern Italy to start over in the birthplace of Fascism.

 

[Jermayn]

BALTIMORE — The Naval Academy canceled a speech by author and podcaster Ryan Holiday after he declined a request not to reference 381 books and literary works removed from its library as part of a review of diversity, equity and inclusion materials, according to an opinion piece he authored for The New York Times.

['We're not censoring anything, and we'll censor anyone who says we are.']

Holiday, who has hosted a series of lectures on the virtues of Stoicism to midshipmen for the past four years, was scheduled to speak to the sophomore class on the theme of wisdom on April 14.

“As an author, I believe deeply in the power of books,” Holiday wrote in The Times. “As a bookstore owner in Texas, I have spoken up about book banning many times already. More important was the topic of my address: the virtue of wisdom.

“As I explained repeatedly to my hosts, I had no interest in embarrassing anyone or discussing politics directly. I understand the immense pressures they are under, especially the military employees, and I did not want to cause them trouble. I did, however, feel it was essential to make the point that the pursuit of wisdom is impossible without engaging with (and challenging) uncomfortable ideas.”

I wouldn't say the books were banned. The Naval Academy just didn't want to listen to someone reading from them. I'm sure they can still be bought somewhere.

 

[RocksInMyHead]

I wouldn't say the books were banned. The Naval Academy just didn't want to listen to someone reading from them.

I don't get the impression that that was Holiday's intent. In context, it sounds like he was planning to reference the fact that the books had been removed from the library.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Army, Air Force libraries ordered to review books for DEI material​

The orders from service leaders come about two weeks after the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, removed nearly 400 books from its library after being told by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office to get rid of those that promote DEI.

The memos suggest that any removal of books will only happen after the initial lists are reviewed more closely. That slower pace may reflect a desire to be more careful about what books are pulled from shelves after the Navy faced criticism over some of those it removed.

Books on the Holocaust, histories of feminism, civil rights and racism, as well as Maya Angelou’s famous autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” were among the 381 books that were removed from the U.S. Naval Academy’s Nimitz Library.