In politics, you’re either on-message or you’re losing. Let’s get to it.
Welcome to On Message, a weekly look at where the battle lines are drawn and who is winning the war of words.
This week… Book Burnings.
In the week or so running up to the Thanksgiving holiday, a group of parents in the Canyon School District raised objections to some books available at their school libraries.
Ok, “raised objection” might be the nice way to put it, while others might say they “demanded books be removed from the library.”
Tomato-tomato.
It’s the latest battlefront for a group that seems to go looking for a fight and has found schools to be one of their easier targets on everything from face masks to critical race theory to social emotional learning… and now they’ve got librarians in their crosshairs.
The original concerned parent did what you would expect and emailed her complaint to the district. There’s nothing wrong with that. Reportedly, the email was also sent to a parent associated with the Utah Parents United group, which has been the organizing force behind the efforts I just mentioned. That group leapt into action and quickly escalated things to the point of reportedly encouraging parents to call the police if they find objectionable materials in school libraries.
Yeah, see, that’s one lesson: when you have a good point to make, like reasonable concerns about books available in school libraries… don’t give up the high ground by doing something ridiculous. Message discipline is important for people on all sides of an argument.
And that leads to a fundamental question: is this really a controversy?
Well, not really. In most every district, there is a process to review any materials parents want to flag. In some Utah school districts, parents can flag any material and immediately prohibit their students from checking it out. The process to remove a book entirely from the library is more methodical, as it should be.
And keep in mind, objectionable materials are in the eye of the beholder. Just as more conservative parents may find materials related to sexual exploration and sexual identity problematic… there are likely materials that liberal-leaning parents would find objectionable that may elicit cries of “wokeism” or “censorship” from Utah Parents United if a similar effort were organized on the other side.
So, having an orderly process is critical.
As Richard Price, an associate professor of political science at the Weber State University [who tracks censorship in school districts](https://adventuresincensorship.com/), told the Salt Lake Tribune:
“… I fear what this group is trying to do is forbid all people from reading them. They’re trying to parent for all parents.”
So, what’s the lesson?
While we live in a world where everyone is pushed to take a side on every issue and divide people into two neat groups of friends and enemies… it’s often a better strategy to see where you agree.
Abraham Lincoln was criticized for trying to build bridges with is foes and his reply was, “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”
So, fight the urge to make it a fight.
In this case, there’s a process in place for parents to control what their kids can check out of the library… another process to review a book’s availability at the school in general… and an army of parents who seem willing to dedicate their time to reading books to review the material in a way we cannot expect a single librarian or modest library staff to do.
Welcome their input, explain the review process and thank them for their willingness to contribute.
And, so long as the parents follow the process and act like adults when some rulings don’t go their way… it’s all good.
Fight avoided.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
And even if there’s outcry when a book is deemed appropriate despite objections… having been transparent about the process and adhering to it gives districts solid ground to stand on.
That’s it for this week.
More On Message in the next issue of the Utah Political Underground.
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