As the full-fledged attack on diversity, equity and inclusion continues, President Donald Trump now threatens kindergarten through 12th grade education as he tries to end “radical indoctrination.”

An executive order signed by Trump on Jan. 25 claims children are forcefully taught anti-American ideologies, pressuring them to assume identities as either oppressors or victims based on their skin color.

Following suit, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order Jan. 31 stating DEI teaches critical race theory, promotes racial superiority and doesn’t act on the promise of the color-blind Constitution. Abbott announced in his State of the State address Feb. 9 his intention to ban DEI from public schools, grades K-12.

Texas’ education is already censored, though.

Growing up in this state’s public schools, many of us were shocked to learn outside the classroom the dark truth about America’s history.

Knowledge, taught to us through either searching on Google, viewing on social media or hearing in college lectures, gave an insight to introspective critical thinking some of us had never been introduced to before.

Arguments for banning DEI in public school education claim it’s radical indoctrination forcing students away from critical thinking by provoking children at a young age to identify themselves as the color of their skin.

However, this argument comes from the mouths of the authoritative few who feel ambushed by the power of color identity.

Learning about diversity didn’t make us afraid of ourselves. It taught us how to be better Americans.

Color-blind ideas deny seeing anything but White, denies recognizing others’ culture, denies believing in the beauty of diversity and denies America’s foundation as a melting pot of culture.

Radical indoctrination is when the education system is allowed to choose what parts of history are taught.

Censorship is already an issue without DEI bans, and now with each executive order, Americans’ right to freedom of information is being stripped away.

Google recently removed Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Indigenous Peoples Month, Jewish American Heritage Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day and Pride Month from its calendar app.

Erasing history lessons to make others comfortable won’t silence those whose stories aren’t being told. DEI is being banned because it is said to be discriminatory toward White people.

Discrimination is defined as a process of unfair decision making upon groups based on ethnicity.

Trump, Abbott and other conservatives are choosing to ban DEI and other programs or education dedicated to minority groups is discrimination.

DEI is being banned because White parents are uncomfortable with their White children recognizing when White people act in favor of systematic racism.

Abbott has declared a Parental Bill of Rights, giving them complete access to their child’s academic curriculum and the right to request changes.

Parents already have enough control over what their children can or can’t learn. Sexual education can only be taught in the state with parental consent, and students can temporarily be removed from the classroom during lessons unaligned with their parents’ beliefs.

U.S. literacy rates show 54% of adults are reading below a sixth-grade level, and Texas has the fourth-lowest literacy rate in the country, according to National Literacy Institute.

Banning DEI and giving parents the right to deconstruct a teacher’s curriculum aren’t going to fix the education problem in this state or country.

Nor will either of these put an end to the “race problem.”

Anti-DEI laws set a precedent to allow a rewrite of American history with boastful propaganda to indoctrinate future generations to be submissive in the face of power.

Political figures have already planted seeds for Americans to question the legitimacy of information gathered from social media, search engines and news. Now, as censorship on these forms of media roll out and the education system is being threatened to change, who will Americans turn to for information?

The Trump administration? Elon Musk? Corporations?

Instead of mindlessly allowing oneself into their educational echo chamber, gather with those around you and have uncomfortable conversations because discomfort is key to growth.

If one becomes unsettled by what is taught, know it’s a part of learning. Be open to asking uncomfortable questions as well as being compassionate to those asking questions.

Move forward by speaking with others and documenting what’s seen because we are the archivists of today’s American history.