By: Jonathan Lange
It was Joseph Heller’ 1961 novel that introduced the term “Catch-22” into America’s modern vocabulary. In Heller’s “Catch-22,” he satirized a bureaucratic loop that prevented a military man from requesting a psychological evaluation because, according to the “catch-22” rule, the very act of asking proved he didn’t need one. Merriam-Webster defines the essential meaning of this phrase as “a difficult situation for which there is no easy or possible solution.”
The American Library Association (ALA) touts Heller’s novel among the famous “banned books.” However, it was only temporarily banned in one Ohio library from 1971-1974.
Banned Books Week, which takes place the last week of September every year, gives a platform for libraries to treat parental concerns with utter contempt. They ban classics while housing sexually explicit books in children’s libraries.
| First, it gives woke school administrators—not parents— the ability to remove classics like John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” and Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” from a high school English curriculum.This enables them to claim that these books are “censored.” Second, the ALA uses the dubious claim to include these kinds of books on their “Top 10 #BannedBooksList.”
Third, the same ALA then puts eight other books on the list that are truly objectionable but makes it look on a par with American classics. |
This brings us to the real Catch-22: The pornographic language and pictures found in the children’s book section of Wyoming’s libraries. This obscenity is so over-the-top that these books would never be printed in any respectable newspaper.
Any teacher or librarian unable to see why sane parents would object to the open display of “Doing It,” “The V-Word,” and “This Book is Gay” in the children’s section of a library has no business being around our children. Despite what progressive ideologues will tell you, this has nothing to do with “sexual identity” and everything to do with exposing children to inappropriate sexual content.
So, what can we do about it in Wyoming?
| First, educate yourself. Concerned citizens should use the card catalogue of every child’s library to search for books of a sexual or otherwise objectionable nature. Work with other people in the community to share this workload.Second, go and talk to administrators to discuss your findings. Seek a solution that protects the community’s children. Sexually objectionable books should, at the bare minimum, not be displayed on the direct eye-level of your average seven-year-old. These books must be moved to the adult part of the library.
Third, learn the library’s policies that pertain to your concerns. If it is not being followed, correct the abuse. If the policy itself is inadequate, go to the appropriate oversight board—either the school board or the library board. Schools and counties are not answerable to the American Library Association. They are answerable to the voters. |
Finally, remember that it is not only the business of parents to make public libraries safe for their children. It is the business of the entire community.
Your voice must be heard. This should not have to be a Catch-22.
By: Jonathan Lange
NathanWinters
Executive Director
Dear Friends,
The pushback on Twitter is off to a roaring start! After Twitter shut down our partners at Focus on the Family simply for stating a biological fact, you helped to expose what Twitter did and to push back in a huge way.
Already, the Family Policy Alliance tweet that challenged Twitter with the question, #AreWeNext, has been shared by many members of Congress, national and state leaders, and concerned citizens – and has been seen well over half a million times on Twitter.
But still, Twitter continues to block Focus on the Family from access to their Daily Citizen Twitter account – just for appropriately and accurately stating that a Biden appointee who identifies as transgender is “a man who believes he’s a woman.”
Will you help us turn up the heat on Twitter? Already, more than 10,000 Americans (including perhaps you!) have signed the petition to Twitter, but that number needs to grow in a big way.
We are urgently asking our friends and supporters for a special donation today to ratchet up the pressure on Twitter. Special funding is needed for digital ads, texting campaigns and more – to directly reach out to citizens and mobilize a grassroots army of Americans who care about freedom to speak the truth!
Will you contribute towards our goal of $15,000? Every gift – big or small – will make a real difference in this effort.
As you’ve seen from our emails, there is no shortage of policy battles that we are in the middle of in D.C. and around the country. But this action from Twitter cannot be allowed to stand. We cannot allow Big Tech to perceive that the American people will let them get away with shutting down the basic truth.
The momentum in this effort is exciting! Just today, other news outlets such as The Daily Wire have reported on our effort, and more national leaders are speaking out.
But it’s critical that we engage with a focused campaign to keep this in the headlines and mobilize vast numbers of Americans. Will you help make that happen with your gift today?
Yours for freedom to speak the truth,
John Paulton
Mobilization Manager
P.S. What’s at stake is more than just one organization’s Twitter account. This is the battle for freedom of speech in our culture that is so impacted by a handful of Big Tech companies. Please help rally Americans to push back with your gift today!