"I think we know the things that are most egregious" said Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan (Utah), as he introduced at bill in the Utah Legislature to ban any books containing pornographic or indecent content from Utah schools, both in the library and classroom.
Wow, just Wow. Where to begin? Well, Mr. Ivory (I don't like to use the term representative for someone who only represents his own interests), who is the "we" you speak of so knowingly? It's obvious you are not referring to educators on the legislative committee that have degrees in such matters, like the former teacher, Rep. Elizabeth Weight D-West Valley City; or the associate professor Rep. Karen Kwan D-Murray; they both voted against your bill. By "we", are you referencing the leaders of the LDS church? Or is "we" the legislative simpletons like yourself you do not understand the value of an educated, diversified culture?
Are you going to ban Shakespeare, Chaucer and Freud? What about Dickens and Twain?
Mr, Ivory, you have a law degree from California Western University. Certainly you know the ill effects of book banning (see Germany, 1930-1945) and the failure of prohibiting access (see the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution); I therefore cannot in all fairness assign your sponsorship of this bill to ignorance. (Although I did refer to you as a simpleton in my second paragraph.) I can only deduce you are pandering to the uneducated, frightened but vocal minority of citizens (see Utah Parents United) who want to put this country back to the 1950's, a time of repression, segregation, and discrimination.
The United States of America has come a long way since then; one might even say we are starting to grow up as a country. We are learning the value of diversification in our culture and our population. We cannot, however, say we have been even remotely successful in reaching the American ideal of equal rights and equal responsibility under the law. The materials discussed in the books you seek to ban are not evil, nor do these ideas require censorship by the government. If parents do not want their children to read these books, fine, then let them guide their own children away from them.
Don't even pretend you are doing this for the good of the children. If you were truly looking out for our students, you would support increased funding for public education, smaller classrooms, and more well-paid teachers. Reality? You are doing this to grovel in front of the right-wing donors who fund your elections.
It's not a pretty sight.
Thank you for reading! Your comments are always welcome, and please share this blog with those that might find it of interest.
Have an opposing view? Those comments are welcome also.
R.M. "Bob" Hartman
The books Utah Parents United are trying to ban include the following:
The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison; Gender Queer, Maia Kobabe; Beyond Magenta, Susan Kuklin; l8r,g8r, Lauren Myracle; Lawn Boy, Jonathan Evison; Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov; Monday's Not Coming, Tiffany Jackson; The Opposite of Innocent, Sonya Sones; and Out of Darkness, Ashley Hope Perez