Is Florida Falling Under the Spell of Authoritarianism?

Some have raised concerns that Florida is headed in the direction of the Thought Police of the novel 1984

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“State bill would put Big Brother’s thought police on campus,” reads the headline of a recent piece, as fears abound about the new law passed here in Florida, as Governor Ron DeSantis seeks to go to war with college campuses. Some find it eerie that the Governor wants to know the political leanings of everyone on college campuses, while supporters of the bill believe it’s a necessary step to curb perceived “bias” and discrimination against them.

“DeSantis is ‘Florida Man’” read another headline from Deadspin, in response to the Florida Governor signing a rather odd new piece of legislation called HB 233 — Postsecondary Education, a bill that has raised eyebrows and has Floridians asking questions. The bill does a lot of things, but according to the DeSantis Administration themselves, it supposedly:

Prohibits State Board of Education and BOG from shielding students, staff, and faculty from certain speech; requires State Board of Education to conduct annual assessment on intellectual freedom & viewpoint diversity; creates a cause of action for recording or publication of certain video or audio recordings; revises provisions…