By Peggy L. Chinn, PhD, RN, FAAN
Writer’s Camp Counselor
The United States is experiencing a challenging reality.
The United States is currently experiencing the reality of authoritarian forces that are designed to limit free speech in ways that are ethically irresponsible—a reality that many other countries also have faced or are facing. There are examples of resistance everywhere. But when it comes to your own experience of being censored or required to conform to certain new “rules” in your professional writing, the reality hits home. As Robin Walter stated in a recent Nursology.net blog post
Faculty, including myself, have been cautioned to refrain from using the very words that embody the core values of nursing’s social contract. The threat is real. Failure to comply with the new state laws could result in job loss for faculty and a loss of funding or exorbitant fines for state colleges and universities. The question becomes, “How do nurse educators promote the ideals of social justice and emancipatory praxis at a time when the concepts and theories grounding them are being censored across the nation?”1
So indeed, what are we to do? What options do we have, as nurse educators and scholars, as we face this challenge? The first admonition that Timothy Snyder offers in his book “On Tyranny”2 is the principle that I believe our responses must be guided by: “Do not obey in advance.” Indeed nurse educators I have spoken to are anticipating being required to revise entire curricula and course syllabi to purge the “forbidden words” from their documents. They are organizing to do this, energized by the mere threat that federal funding will be withheld if educational institutions do not comply. This is “obedience in advance.”
It takes courage to stand firm and to uphold the fundamental values of nursing and to stand firm in our ethical duty to provide the best care possible to all, regardless of age, social/economic circumstance, religion, skin color, race, country of origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity. A key to being able to do this is to engage with colleagues who share the determination to face the fear, to act in defense of our values, and to draw inspiration from those who are standing up publicly to do so. Here are a number of specific suggestions for doing what we are called upon to do in this moment:
- Read Timothy Snyder’s books On Tyranny2 and On Freedom.3 Both are short and easy to read, and they provide practical and inspirational guidance.
- Challenge and resist any anticipated or actual suggestions, or “orders,” to change your language. Cite the nursing Code of Ethics, particularly Provision 9 which states:
- Nurses and their professional organizations work to enact and resource practices, policies, and legislation to promote social justice, eliminate health inequities, and facilitate human flourishing.
- Take inspiration from statements and declarations from nurses calling for resistance to governmental or administrative assaults on human health and well-being:
- 2025 Declaration of Solidarity and Resistance (https://nursemanifest.com/2025-nurses-declaration-of-solidarity-and-resistance/)
- Truth About Nursing Statement condemning the Trump administration’s attack on healthcare https://blog.truthaboutnursing.org/2025/04/join-our-statement-condemning-the-trump-administrations-attack-on-healthcare/
- National Nurses United: Nurses for Democracy: Resources – https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/nurses-for-democracy-resources
- After all you can do to resist, if you find yourself in a situation that demands you to edit your documents in ways that infringe on your values and your freedom, take action in another venue in order to assure yourself that it is possible to enact your values and strengthen your resolve to do so.
- Write a blog (your own or a multi-authored blog such as Nursology.net, or Nursemanifest.com).
- Post on social media and send emails declaring your dedication to the values of social and health equity.
- Share your stories of resistance as widely as you can. Remember, courage is contagious!
References
- Walter RR. The Value of Integrating Nursing Theories in an Era of Legislative Censorship. Nursology. November 19, 2024. Accessed May 13, 2025. https://nursology.net/2024/11/19/the-value-of-integrating-nursing-theories-in-an-era-of-legislative-censorship/
- Snyder T. On Tyranny. Crown Publications; 2017. Accessed May 13, 2025. https://timothysnyder.org/on-tyranny/
- Snyder T. On Freedom. Crown Publishing Group; 2024. Accessed May 13, 2025. https://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Timothy-Snyder/dp/0593728726
©2025 Writer’s Camp and Peggy L. Chinn. Licensed CC-BY-ND 4.0
Author: Peggy L. Chinn
Editor: Leslie H. Nicoll
Citation: Chinn PL. Are You Being Censored? Writer’s Camp. May 13, 2025. Accessed May 13, 2025. https://writers-camp.org/2025/05/13/are-you-being-censored/
One thought on “Are You Being Censored? ”