Hillary Clinton said the quiet point out loud, saying “At some point maybe there needs to be a formal deprogramming of the (MAGA) cult members.” I’m pretty sure that the Editorial Board of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who are very, very upset that some parents do not want their children exposed to groomer material, agree!
Book bans have no place in a free society | Editorial
Pennsylvania ranks among the top states for book bans in schools. Legislators in Harrisburg must take a stand against censorship.
by The Editorial Board | Saturday, October 7, 2023 | 6:00 AM EDT
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel about a firefighter who burns down houses that own books. The 1953 novel, which some have tried to ban over the years, is set in an unnamed city in the distant future.
In many ways, that disturbing future doesn’t feel too far removed from what’s happening right now.
By one count, there were more than 3,300 instances of banned books in public schools across the country during the last academic year — a 33% increase compared with 2021-22. Efforts to challenge and take books off the shelves have overtaken school boards and local libraries nationwide, dividing towns and pitting neighbor against neighbor.
The Philadelphia suburbs are ground zero for many of the book bans in Pennsylvania, which ranks among the top states for book bans in schools. It is a shameful distinction for a state founded by William Penn as a haven for religious freedom for fellow Quakers.
You know, I agree with the article headline: “Book bans have no place in a free society.” But what the Editorial Board have missed is that, when it comes to the public schools, we are not talking about a free society! Pennsylvania, like every other state, has a compulsory education law, requiring that youngsters between certain ages attend school! While parents do have the option of sending their kids to a private school or to homeschool them — if they follow government regulations — they are also required to pay property taxes to support the public schools anyway. Continue reading