New in PJ Media:
Freedom of expression is under more concerted attack than it has faced in years, and as the censorship efforts of Big Tech demonstrate, that attack is coming from the Left. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the American Library Association (ALA), and the anti-censorship group PEN America, however, would have you believe that the real threat is coming from the big, grey conservative machine that looms so large in far-Left propaganda. AP ran a story on Tuesday about these admirable warriors, entitled “Activism grows nationwide in response to school book bans.” It is, as you might expect, a near-total inversion of reality: what the Leftists in the story characterize as censorship is actually the effort of parents to roll back at least some of what the Left has done to transform American public schools into centers of Leftist indoctrination.
We are first introduced to a woman named Stephana Ferrell, who was moved to become politically active when her Florida county decided to remove a graphic novel entitled Gender Queer: A Memoir from the local high school’s library. “By winter break,” she says, “we realized this was happening all over the state and needed to start a project to rally parents to protect access to information and ideas in school.” Along with another parent, Ferrell then founded the Florida Freedom to Read Project, which labors to “keep or get back books that have gone under challenge or have been banned.”
This is a deft spin, but it’s a spin nonetheless. Ferrell and her ilk aren’t fighting against some entrenched conservative establishment that is banning books left and right that don’t conform to the MAGA worldview. There is, of course, no such establishment. There is, rather, an educational establishment that is wholly under the control of the Left, and that has been pushing to get books such as Gender Queer: A Memoir into schools in order to break down traditional morality even more than it is already. Some parents have taken it upon themselves to try to resist this effort. And now, for AP, as well as the ACLU, the ALA, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), PEN America, and others, they’re the censors.
The ACLU, PEN America, and the NCAC have been astroturfing this effort to strike back at the supposed censors. According to AP, the three groups “have been working with local activists, educators and families around the country, helping them ‘to prepare for meetings, to draft letters and to mobilize opposition,’ according to PEN America’s executive director, Suzanne Nossel.” These people are awash in cash: “The CEO of Penguin Random House, Markus Dohle, has said he will personally donate $500,000 for a book defense fund to be run in partnership with PEN. Hachette Book Group has announced ‘emergency donations’ to PEN, the NCAC and the Authors Guild.”
There is more. Read the rest here.
Infidel says
Now that work from home as well as remote learning is a thing, parents should get more involved w/ their kids. Let the kids learn STEM fields remotely or on campus, but leave the arts exclusively to the parents. Let them deal w/ things like history, faith, economics, politics and so on
Keith O says
When I read things like this, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Infidel says
How is the education system down under?
Keith O says
Not as bad as that.
However, unless your kid goes to a private school their education standards will still be average at best.
I am blessed that my daughter has a fairly high IQ which went some of the way to nullifying the lack of spending by the gumbyment on public schools.
So she ended up somewhat self taught.
gravenimage says
ACLU, ALA, PEN Fight ‘Censorship’ in Schools, That Is, Parents Resisting Leftist Indoctrination
…………..
Talk about projection!
Deborah Elliott says
My teen granddaughter loves to read and I Googled the top 100 recommendations for her age group to find some books for her birthday. I was appalled by the percentage of them which were “coming of age/coming out” books of young gay teens. (I hear the “movement” goes all the way back to elementary-school aged children, much too young to even be presented with such issues.)
What goes on between two consenting adults is none of my business, and i want to keep it that way. I’m just fine with it until I’m asked to co-sign and validate such things as not just normal but to be celebrated.
James Lincoln says
Does anyone here know when the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) first started to lose their mind?
DazzleMe says
I agree, I am very concerned for the future of this country. These children will be so mixed up they won’t know which way is up.