Political Activism

So many of you know, that I'm pretty politically minded.  I often write Congressman and other people when I feel really strongly about something and desire change.  I felt like sharing my latest email to the Norman School District.  I sent it to both High School principals and all their assistant principals, and I sent it to the District Supervisor and his secretary.  Enjoy!  (Oh and Will helped me write it.  He usually makes me sound much better...so most of the good stuff is from him.)

Principal...

As I was watching the trailers before the news, one in particular that piqued my interest was a story of a student reading a book on his school book list what the reporter deemed to be pornographic.  I am an avid reader and I believe reading is essential for a good education, and as a certified teacher, I was curious to see how silly this parent/student was being; surely Norman Public Schools would not let children read books with blatant pornographic material.  When the reporter shared just one line from the book, which described the erection a man was having, I was appalled.  What disgusted me even more was the response of the schools—that  "the student can just pick another book."  First of all, there are scores of AMAZING books that can be on the reading list for this English Literature class.  While I have not seen the list myself, I am sure that the list does not include all those that really are considered to be classics. Now, I understand that a sixteen year old would much rather read about sex than about less exciting topics, but if the focus is to cater to the student’s desires, why not get rid of homework all together?  I’m sure they’d be amenable to that.  Now, to be fair, I gathered from the news story that this book has won awards, and I hate the idea of "banning books".  However, let’s be clear: if this book were a movie it would be rated R.  For a 17 year old child to watch a rated R movie they have to have parental permission.  It seems that there is somewhat of a disconnect if a 16 year old is not allowed to see certain things at the theatre down the street without his or her parents’ permission, yet is handed the same material in literary format without even the mention of it to the parents.  Perhaps the story misinterpreted the situation, but I gathered that the parent had no knowledge of the material of the book until it was pointed out by the student.

Secondly, one of the things that I love about America is the fact that I can walk down the street with my family and rest assured that I will not have to shield their eyes from obscene images.  In other countries it’s not like that.  Whether you like it or not, whether you’re 12 or 82, you’re going to be exposed to erotic images (and we’re not just talking the swim suit addition of Sports Illustrated).  Luckily, here we have common decency laws that, among other things, ensure that minors (whose brains are still developing, mind you) are not exposed to them unless their parents give consent.  Thus, for a public institution to present what I deem to be obscene material before a minor is comparable to giving students the option to view erotic images in a photography class.  Yes, these youth live in a different world where I grew up.  However, let us not forget the lessons that civilization has taught us. According to Pulitzer Prize winning authors Will and Ariel Durant in their History of Civilization, “A youth boiling with hormones will wonder why he should not give full freedom to his sexual desires; and if he is unchecked by custom, morals, or laws, he may ruin his life [or hers] before he matures sufficiently to understand that sex is a river of fire that must be banked and cooled by a hundred restraints if it is not to consume in chaos both the individual and the group.”  Thus, one of the reasons why parental permission is so necessary is that adolescents just are not prepared to deal with the “river of fire” that comes with sex (and this includes pornography). 

Now, the next argument that is sure to arise in favor of this book is that not everyone is governed by Christian morals.  Well, if we’re not guided by morals, then what guides us?  John Adams said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."  The youth of today are not being taught morals and our society as a whole is declining in virtue.  I truly believe that if we do not take a stand for decency and for morals then we will begin a course down a slippery slope, which once entered into will be difficult to leave.  I urge you to reconsider allowing books like this to be on our children's reading list.

Sincerely,

Sandra Taylor