All Books Not Equal

To The Editor:

Got a good laugh from Jeff Wick’s column “I don’t think library book banning is ever a good idea.” Interesting in light of the robust history of more than 200 years of careful selection of books available in public schools based on community norms, including Fayette County Texas, which is the same outcome as “banning.” Consider Madonna’s book “Sex,” and we immediately see the fallacy of Mr. Wick’s remarks.

The people of this county are the stockholders in our schools, who pay the wages and finance capital expenditures and elect the school board – and pay for the books. Yet we and the School Board are to kowtow to questionable expenditures made by our school bureaucrats? Huh?

I am happy that a son of Mr. Wick is excited about reading because of Captain Underpants, but there are indeed better written, exciting and more educational children’s books available. I do not have an axe to grind against this series of books, except to note that bringing up our children to be well-educated good and useful citizens does not rise and fall on the availability of Captain Underpants in our school libraries.

In this age of the Internet, everything is available in a few days. Parents desiring to excite their children with potty talk or indoctrinate them to the cause de jour can purchase whatever and have at it.

Many books – indeed a great many – are not worthy candidates for our tax dollars.

Non sunt libri pares. “There are no books equal.”

Edward R. Dykes

La Grange