The Mat-Su school district and others could learn something from a recent article in The Enquirer, a local paper in Pennsylvania. Or, at least, one can hope they will.
Pennsylvania’s Central Bucks School District was one of the places where Moms for Liberty lost big in the 2023 elections, with a right-wing school board majority swept out and replaced with Democrats. On Dec. 6, Karen Smith — who had been serving on the board in the Democratic minority before this election — was sworn in as the school board president, part of the wave of change from the anti-LGBTQ+, pro-book banning board voted out in November. She made a powerful symbolic choice when it came to what book she’d be sworn in on — not the Bible or another religious book, but a stack of frequently banned books. There’s more to this article at The Enquirer’s website.
This quote from one of the previously banned books, “Night,” by Elie Wiesel, summed up this whole affair quitesuccinctly: “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
Nothing says freedom like a good book.
— Wayne Jones
Palmer
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