Recently our town was in significant turmoil over the issue of book banning. Several parents and members of the Board of Education recommended banning two books dealing with gender and sexual issues in teenagers.
There was a great deal of discussion about this issue. Much of it involved a good deal of very inappropriate name calling and hostility. In fact the behavior of many people distracted from the issue to such an extent that it very nearly overshadowed the main point of it all. In the end it was decided to allow the books to remain in Middle and High School libraries.
And all of this happened in little old Newtown, CT. But it's happening elsewhere in places like Florida, Texas, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, etc. Do you see a pattern here? Mark my words, if this country goes red in the next elections you're going to see more efforts to ban books someone somewhere decided your kids shouldn't read.
Look, the issue is simple to me. If you don't want your kid reading a certain book, fine. Don't let him/her/it. But you don't have the right to impose your view on others. Book banning to me is abhorrent. It's what the Nazis did to control its citizens. It can not be allowed to happen here. This is a free country-for everyone-not just the far right like nut jobs like Trump and DeSantis.
This issue is far from over in Newtown and the nation as a whole. I'm afraid it will divide us even more than we already are-if that's possible.
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