On Tuesday, acclaimed documentary maker Ken Burns scorched Florida Governor Ron DeSantisnew education proposals on CNN. During the appearance, Burns argued that the proposals would severely limit what teachers were able to discuss with their students regarding American history.

“What makes America great,” Burns began, “is not the suppression of ideas, or (the suppression) of the pursuit of every corner of (where) those ideas may lead us, or (the suppression of) the facts. It is about who we are, and how we investigate who we are. And celebrate the diversity of who we are.”

He said all of these bills that DeSantis and others are pursuing are essentially the opposite of how our history should be taught. He called them exclusive, rather than inclusive. But he didn’t stop there.

“It’s terrifying. It feels like a Soviet system,” Burns stated. He further accused DeSantis of trying to shut down open inquiry into American history, which he argued was in direct opposition to the Enlightenment-based ideals of America’s founding fathers. Burns went on to say that he was currently working on a major series about the American Revolution and could not believe that the Governor was attempting to carry the mantle of what it is to be American.

“I am doing… a film right now, working on a major series on the history of the American Revolution and I can tell you that Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Payne and George Washington and John Adams and James Madison and Alexander Hamilton are rolling over if their graves if they think this person is carrying the mantle of what it is to be American,” he said.

Burns expanded his comments by accusing DeSantis of attempting to teach a “neat, tidy, white picket fence, Morning-in-America kind of view of things” when the truth was much more complex and nuanced. He used an example that we have a kid in gym class being corrected and told to do something the right way. Yet, in history, folks like DeSantis are afraid to teach our complex and sometimes contradictory history in an effort for us to do things right as we move forward.

Check out the full interview with Ken Burns below …