“Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you are going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don’t be afraid to go in your library and read every book.”

– Dwight D. Eisenhower

The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis confirmed this week that it has removed from its library nearly 400 volumes deemed inconsistent with the current administration’s hostility to policies supporting “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI). The academy declined to disclose which titles it is hiding from view. This rank act of cowardice reflects an appalling contempt for the intellectual and moral strength of our future military leaders.

Yes, some books contain ideas that challenge the thinking of our current crop of cultural commissars — that any officer showing support for DEI “has got to go,” in the pithy words of our bibulous Secretary of Leaking War Plans, Pete Hegseth.

As we’ve made clear, the Independent opposes book bans even as we acknowledge that some material is not appropriate for small children. This latest incident, however, involves withholding ideas from adults legally entitled to marry, operate heavy equipment, vote, own firearms, and serve in the armed forces. Yet the administration evidently considers this class of young adults — the future leaders of our military — too emotionally and morally fragile to read materials deemed (by someone, somehow) to include DEI ideas.

These future Naval officers will face life-and-death situations while leading sailors with diverse life experiences and ideas. A 2022 Defense Department survey determined that 20.7 percent of Navy personnel are women; 37 percent identify with “racial minority groups”; and 17.6 percent are Hispanic or Latino. Officers have to engage with that diverse population, include them in strategic initiatives, and ensure that they are treated fairly and, yes, equitably. They will also inevitably confront situations of racial tension and sexual abuse. They’ll only benefit, as General (and later President) Dwight D. Eisenhower famously insisted, from the broadest possible exposure to diverse ideas.

Who are the snowflakes in this picture — the man who led us out of World War II, or the people who want to hide ideas?

David O. Stewart, a member of the board of the Independent, is the author of George Washington: The Political Rise of America’s Founding Father and nine other works of history and historical fiction.