Our Freedom Is Being Legislated Away     #197

(And it has nothing to do with vaccines or masks.) 

By Hank Silverberg

(This blog has been updated) 

There's been a great deal of talk lately about an erosion of our freedom, both as individuals and as a community. A small group has been very loud about their resistance to wearing masks or getting a life saving vaccine.  

The short-term impact of that could keep the pandemic going longer than it would be if everyone just cooperated. 

But there is really a greater threat out there to our long-term future as a freedom loving nation. 

And this week it happened right in my own back yard here in Virginia. 

The Spotsylvania County School Board, acting on a complaint from just one parent, has been talking about banning books from school libraries that don't meet "Christian values." One board member even suggested burning those books that don't meet that criteria. 

Well, nothing gets my hair to stand on end and my blood pressure to skyrocket more than ANY attempt at censorship. 

My readers know by now that I am a retired journalist and an author of three published books (my fourth one, this one a text book, should be out in January). So when I heard about this discussion and then saw a stream of the board meeting where it took place, I got very angry.  

I am not alone in my reaction. I dashed off e-mails to every member of the school board, and so did many others after a flurry of activity on social media. The local TV stations (I personally called a former colleague to help), and then a few of the national networks, got on board and did stories on this attempt at censorship.   

(Riverbend High School 
Courtesy SCPS)

Here are the basic facts: One parent, after being alerted by her teenage son, a student at Riverbend High School, complained about the ability to access a book called "33 Snowfish." It's  an award winning book for young adults about three runaways "who understand hate and violence better than love." It seems the parent was offended with the topic which includes some descriptions of  "explicit sex," including homosexuality, and was restricted to students 15 and older. 

It was then that the school board went crazy. One member suggested banning books with "explicit sex" or anything he personally found objectionable, while a second member suggested that books which didn't conform to "Christian values" should be burned.  

Spotsylvania schools ban sexually explicit books | wusa9.com

For a second I thought I was listening to a re-enactment of something  from the 1920's.   

The board voted 6-0 to start an audit of library books to see which should be removed for "objectionable" or "sexually explicit content." 

There are so many practical and Constitutional issues here that I could write ten pages about it.   But the bottom line is that banning books is just one step from burning books. And burning books is one of the first steps toward a totalitarian regime. It was a tactic used by Hitler, Stalin and Mao. 

It also makes a mockery of the First Amendment in two ways. First, the board is trying to censor the free expression of ideas and second, one of the board members wanted to limit books to those that express "Christian values." I don't think the man, a local minister, thought it through, but that would imply the Koran and the Torah could be banned from school libraries, not to mention the teachings of Confucius or Buddha, among others. 

And who decides what the "Christian values" are? The Pope? The Baptist church? The Evangelical right? 

This story is far from over. One member, who is leaving the board in December, responded immediately to my e-mail and we had a nice phone conversation. He said that they really didn't vote to ban any books. They just voted for a review. Then I got this email response from the board chairman: 

Dear Mr. Silverberg,

 Thank you so much for your very emphatic email. You have good reason to be angry.

 I am not planning on removing any books from our libraries. I do not believe in censorship. 

 So you are aware, my vote to remove sexually explicit books was a vote to not remove books; I am confident sexually explicit books are not in our libraries. My definition of sexually explicit books would be books in a restricted section of any library and not in any of our schools. I was appalled when board members said they wanted to burn books!

 If you care to come out to speak, we have a scheduled school board meeting on Monday evening, November 15. There will be a budget work session then public comments. The meeting will begin at 5:00 at Chancellor High School. 

 Sincerely,

 Dawn Shelley, M.Ed.

Chairman

Spotsylvania County Public Schools

Chancellor District 

"The highest result of education is tolerance." - Helen Keller

Note the double-speak in the e-mail. George Orwell would be proud. And then note the quote from the Chairman attributed to Helen Keller. 

Sounds to me like the Chairman and her colleagues  are promoting intolerance by trying to ban books that might deal with anything they don't like. 

Today it  may be LGBTQ+ lifestyles. How long before they want to ban anything that contains the word "Holocaust" or "Slavery" or "Democracy"?  

I intend to be at the meeting Monday night to see if they really cancel the audit. I may speak. 

(UPDATE  After  midnight on Tuesday morning the board reversed  their earlier vote and their attempt at censorship ended. It came after dozens of residents ,teachers and students criticized their poor decision during a four hour public comment period.No one spoke in favor of if. . I hope they learned a lesson. You don’t mess with the First Amendment. )  

As for the parent or parents who may feel uncomfortable or find something "objectionable" in a school library, pay more attention to what your children are reading and there should be no issue. And be aware they can find much more "objectionable" material on the internet faster than you can say "Google it." 

Gag Order on "Divisive" Subjects

A new report from PEN America, a group that works to ensure freedom to create literature worldwide, says there's been legislation passed or proposed in more than nine states to gag teachers from discussing any topic deemed "divisive" such as racism, sexism, or even history that doesn't fit the traditional mold on "American exceptionalism."

More than 54 such bills have been proposed altogether in the last few months, and the impact is already chilling free discussion in classrooms. Just like the "book banning" discussed above, this type of legislation is inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the First Amendment.  It deprives students trying to learn, grow and ask critical questions.     

Educational Gag Orders: Legislative Restrictions on the Freedom to Read, Learn, and Teach - PEN America

New PEN America Report Warns About Dangers of Educational Gag Orders - PEN America

PEN America says the bills are vague and could have a wide-ranging impact on literature, curricular materials, and even discussion of basic historical facts or current events. 

Examples include: a detailed discussion of chattel slavery in the United States, historical facts like the Trail of Tears (the mass deportation of Native Americans from the east coast to Oklahoma in the 1830's), the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, or the Japanese American internment camps of World War Two. 

Remnants of a Japanese
Internment camp in Wyoming,
Courtesy library of congress.  

Some examples of the impact can already be seen.  A college in Oklahoma suspended a sociology course on race and ethnicity. In Texas, a school leader instructed teachers to balance books on the Holocaust with those of "opposing views."

Opposing views on the Holocaust? Think about that for a minute.  

Gas Prices Going Back Down?? Maybe!

Last week I wrote about rising gas prices and what was causing them. Time to Think (hanksilverberg.blogspot.com) . This week I noticed a six to eight cent drop in gas prices in my part of Virginia. And the trend, though possibly short, appears to be nationwide. AAA says the national average was down to $3.41 this week, although that's just a fraction of a penny from last week. In my area you can gas for as little as $3.09

(Down 8 cents. Trend or not?)  

at some price clubs, and around $3.21 in most other places. That's down eight cents from last week. Is this a trend? We will have to wait and see. But it did come after the Biden administration convinced OPEC to loosen up on oil supplies.  

AAA Gas Prices   

Since the critics have blamed Biden for the spike, even though an American President has no control over world wide prices, if the downturn continues will they give him the credit? I doubt it.  

Dumbest And Scariest Quote of The Week!

This is not only dumb, it's downright scary. It comes from former Trump advisor and conservative celebrity Michael Flynn, who in his military career had sworn to protect the U.S. Constitution. Apparently, he missed the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment, which specifically states that this country shall have no state religion and allow its citizens to practice any religion they want, or no religion at all.  

Here's what he said this week at a public gathering of "right-wingers." 

“If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion. One nation under God, and one religion under God.”

Like I wrote at the beginning of this blog, we must be wary of a fast moving attempt to undermine the basic concepts behind the United States of America. In some cases, it's a lot of hot air. In other cases like former generals and book-banning school boards, it can lead to more January 6th-type insurrections, or worse. 

  (Your suggestions and comments are welcome) 

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