Can a society that regards books as threats survive? I have my serious doubts, doubts you may share after becoming acquainted with the following story, yet another nail in the coffin of the empire known as America.
This tale comes from Southlake, Texas, where many are concerned about the ability of books to make people think, feel and, God forbid, possibly act.
The debate in Southlake over which books should be allowed in schools is part of a broader national movement led by parents opposed to lessons on racism, history and LGBTQ issues that some conservatives have falsely branded as critical race theory. A group of Southlake parents has been fighting for more than a year to block new diversity and inclusion programs at Carroll, one of the top-ranked school districts in Texas.
Late last year, one of those parents complained when her daughter brought home a copy of “This Book Is Anti-Racist” by Tiffany Jewell from her fourth grade teacher’s class library. The mother also complained about how the teacher responded to her concerns.
Carroll administrators investigated and decided against disciplining the teacher. But last week, on Oct. 4, the Carroll school board voted 3-2 to overturn the district’s decision and formally reprimanded the teacher, setting off unease among Carroll teachers who said they fear the board won’t protect them if a parent complains about a book in their class.
The following news clip revolves around a benighted administrator with Southlake's Carroll Independent School District, Gina Peddy, urging teachers to provide balancing material for 'controversial issues' involving racism and the like; she provoked outrage when she said that if they are teaching about the Holocaust, they should also offer students access to a book from an “opposing” perspective.
Fahrenheit 451 was written in 1953 by Ray Bradbury. It seems that in Southlake and many other areas of the Benighted States of America, his horrifying dystopian vision is edging ever closer to reality.
Ignorance is on the march, Lorne -- and it's marching backward.
ReplyDeleteAnd it is doing so at a breathtaking pace, Owen.
DeleteAmerican society has been in retreat for the past 20 years. Talibangelism, white nationalism, and the rise of tribalism have beset the land. It's as though the nation has suffered a stroke. I really can't see how it can endure another decade of this dysfunction. In a way it could be that another term with Trump in the White House could be just the catalyst America needs to bring the whole thing crashing down.
ReplyDeleteI certainly habour little hope for their continued existence as a nation, Mound. I believe I wrote a comment awhile ago on your blog that I really think that they will ultimately devolve into a number of republics, some theocratic like Texas, others democratic, probably in the Northeast.
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