So Arizona bill SB 1108 says it would ban state-funded colleges and universities from offering classes that are "deemed contradictory to the values of American democracy or Western civilization."
I spent a few years teaching introductory courses in a university philosophy department, trying to turn young minds on to philosophy as a way of thinking and a way of life. Let's think for a minute about how many of those texts are "contradictory to the values of American democracy or Western civilization", shall we?
Well, let's start with the foundation stone of Western social and political thought - Plato's Republic. That's the first thing that has to go. No text that teaches that Democracy is the fourth-best of the five political systems*, could be in any way compatible with American democracy.
Next, let's throw out the works of Cicero, that dangerous anti-democrat who thought the populace were too stupid and venal to rule themselves.
Also, let's not forget the need to prevent young minds from coming into contact with Confucius, who is not only viciously anti-democratic, but clearly non-Western as well.
Moving forward, surely the works of Thomas Aquinas must be banned, that scurrilous anti-democrat who thought that monarchy was the perfect regime and who rubbished democracy as the most evil form of widespread rule.
I won't even speak of Al-Farabi, who in addition to being anti-democratic was as obviously non-Western as you can get (I don't care if he's a foundation-stone of Western thought, HE WAS A MUSLIM!!!1111oneone.)
Hobbes? Are you kidding me? Thomas Hobbes? Now there is someone who hated democracy.
Machiavelli? His opinion of democracy - and of the polity in general - is pretty clear.
Hegel? Marx? Gramsci? Nozick? Habermas? Come on. All that has to go - when it's not palpably anti-Western, it's all riddled through with contradictions and criticisms of American-style democracy. Go on, get rid of it. I'm sure you can teach philosophy just fine with dog-eared copies of The Federalist Papers and Ronald Reagan's autobiography.
*Of course, Plato (via Socrates) does say that democracy is better than tyranny, and here he surely is right. American Democracy, if it existed, would indeed be better than The Madness of King George...