ENDORSEMENT: Vote for Bauman

There is acrimony all over the country; crowds shouting about books in the children’s library depicting explicit sex scenes, and books which are increasingly focused on adult themes. Conservatives are riled up over what they perceive is an affront to family values, while applying age-based standards is called censorship by those on the left.

Are there any books that don’t belong in the children’s section? This is personal because we care about our children and want to have a voice in the debate. It’s political because voters and parents want to ensure their values are represented in the school and in the library. Yet libraries have limited shelf space. They always prioritize one book over another, one message over another. What would be academically superior, Homer’s Odyssey, or sexually explicit picture books  and sex apps? Classic education should liberate students from passions and internal psychological issues that would tear them down. The Supreme Court has already established that schools can regulate books in the curriculum and in school libraries. They can restrict books that are pervasively vulgar or educationally unsuitable. Why shouldn’t public libraries do the same?

How do you teach your children to avoid predators and be safe in the world? Do you go into graphic detail when your children are at their youngest and most innocent? Kids can learn about the evil side of human nature without watching a snuff movie.

Our public libraries have governing boards, and we are being asked to select a new trustee on May 20. Between the two candidates, one (Ms. Lippert) is committed to keeping pervasive, vulgar material in the children’s library. The other candidate, Victoria Bauman, is committed to returning classic, appropriate literature to the children’s collection. The choice seems clear to me.

JIM PATTERSON

Coeur d’Alene