Parents disturbed about pornography in the government schools continue to oppose it publicly and some see progress being made.
Fourteen members of Citizens Defending Freedom showed up at the School Board meeting Dec. 5 and read passages from three books they say should have been in adult bookstores rather than school libraries.
To hear and see the comments click here. It isn’t often that government meetings are so labeled, but: Warning — graphic content.
Parents and concerned citizens read aloud from books that are made available to school students as young as 11. Even though the School Board rules prohibit profanity from being used in meetings, the speakers were not stopped.
Board members in Duval County and other places have stopped speakers in the past but now realize how ridiculous it makes them look when they do not allow adults to read to other adults material that is available to young children.
“Material I’m about to read would truly make a sailor blush,” Kathleen Murray, head of Citizens Defending Freedom and a former Navy officer said before reading from a book used in the schools.
One speaker at the meeting defended the concept of children reading pornography by saying it was more important to teach children to read anything than the content of what they read.
The next speaker noted the appalling fact that only 20 percent of third graders in Duval County are reading at grade level. Apparently reading porn hasn’t helped them.
“You’re doing a disservice to the young people of this community,” another speaker told the board members.
Two books, titled Red Hood and Push, were cited most often.
There were four speakers in favor of filling young minds with filth, arguing that there might be a child who could benefit from these books. Two of them were liberal school board candidates.
By the meeting’s end, however, “the winds had shifted,” Murray said, and some board members were calling for the removal of unsuitable books.
Currently, 13 of the thousands of books in local schools have been removed.
The books on the “not approved” list are: Almost Perfect by Brian Katche, Beloved byToni Morrison, Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris, Doing It by Hannah Witton, Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia, Forever by Judy Blume, grl2grl by Anne Peters, Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, It’s Perfectly Normal by Robbie Harris, Real Live Boyfriends by E. Lockheart, So Hard To Say by Alex Sanchez and Tricks by Ellen Hokins
This is not “book banning,” as the pro-pornography community claims. The books are still available outside the school system for parents to obtain and give to their children if they think it will improve the minds of their children.
This issue is a recent development that accompanied the 21st century liberal push to fundamentally transform American culture. According to the school district’s Web site, from 1983 to 2009 objections were lodged against fewer than 300 books.
Currently, the district is examining thousands of books to ensure that they do not violate the recently passed law in Florida prohibiting pornography in schools.
After months of drawing attention to the problem, concerned parents are seeing results. Murray said she was encouraged by a phone call from Board Member Lori Hershey who Murray said agrees that these types of books need to be removed from the schools and is asking that Citizens Defending Freedom to be a part of the book review process.
Murray said she also received a call from board Chairman Darryl Willie who agreed to meet with her group to see how they could “partner” in removing unsuitable books.
Smart politicians respond to legitimate concerns voiced by responsible citizens, and such citizens deserve thanks from the public for putting in the time and effort.
