Opinion/Education/Rights-Constitution
By George Miller, 10-6-25
The local Fernandina Beach “Story and Song” bookstore and philanthropic presentation hall owners, the Kaufmans, been very kind to the community in providing space for events and even sponsoring presentations, which usually consist of musical, cultural and leftish events.
When I saw the recent ad below, implying books were “banned,” I felt I had to speak out.
They also sell numerous fine publications, but some others are objectionable to many. However, it is perfectly legal for them to sell them. We wouldn’t change that even if we could- especially after enduring censorship of some of our own publications by big media, assisted by the U.S. government. Some say the First Amendment helps make this country great. We agree.
Where we have a problem is when S&S owners and others mistakenly conflate “banning books” with age-appropriate restriction of books legally defined as pornography in schools. If those same books were truly “banned,” then the S&S and other owners might be in jail and a “Fahrenheit 451” type pyre would burn on the street outside of Story and Song, rapidly oxidizing said “banned books.”
Fact is that the state legally restricts books in schools to age-appropriate works and has done much to define them and avoid overly restrictive policies. There has been much mostly healthy back and forth between different factions to define what is objectionable and what legal means to keep or restrict them are.
Many, including this writer, were shocked to see some of the objectionable local school library texts unearthed by local whistleblowers and civic organizations. Many were removed in the last couple of years after valid objections were lodged. Some were reinstated after the Nassau County School District quickly and rather suspiciously caved after a lawsuit was filed by one of the book’s authors and a local uber-Progressive activist. The District supposedly did this to avoid litigation costs. The wimpy school board quickly endorsed this in an act of cowardice or defiance, depending on how one views it.
You can read some of the many articles about these book wars published right here in Citizens Journal Florida– and a mostly opposite viewpoint in the more Progressive News Leader and Observer publications.
Hopes for the two newer board members (Simpkins and Zimmerman) to revisit this have been so far disappointing, to say the least. Neither one has made it one their issues. The other members and District officials have been unhelpful, if not outright opposed to removals, although District Supt. Kathy Burns did facilitate the initial tranche of book removals.
Supporters of Objectionable Books
The essence of objections to school book removals fall into three main categories:
The first is that the lifestyles and specifics/acts/views covered are not objectionable, but are perfectly acceptable and even desirable lifestyles to be accepted, promoted and even exalted in schools, giving not only an implicit endorsement of them, but even an explicit one. Objecting to them constitutes “hate speech” in their view.
The second is that even if these are objectionable, youth should be given a “diverse,” uncensored, open exposition of these ideas. Parental objections would be granted only as specific opt-outs which are problematic to enforce and they would not be given the option to block this material from the schools.
The third is that full First Amendment rights should be given to provide seemingly anything that school officials and teachers want to be offered. I actually heard members of the public and a couple of teachers express this sentiment at school board meetings that my reporters and/or I either attended or watched online. Some of these people said that the books are available on line and in bookstores anyway, so restricting them in schools is futile.
Comments from self-appointed school watchdog and former CA assistant supt. of schools Rich Lamken:
There are school personnel, including media specialists, who have stated that a book’s “intrinsic literary value” trumps the presence of pornography or obscenity and makes it necessary for these books to be included in school libraries. This is strongly supported by the wokester parents.
The woke parents have stated publicly that, if parents object to the presence of pornography in library books, they should have their children attend Christian schools. It’s should be the inverse, if parents want books available to their children, that meet the FL state criteria for removal on the grounds of being pornography and obscenity, they should homeschool them!
Opponents of Objectionable Books
Opponents of the books in question make the following case:
The books are objectionable in the lifestyle/acts/views that they proffer, which are objectionable vs contemporary community standards, biblical scriptures, multiple major religions and various civilizations throughout history. Breakdown of these standards has closely correlated with collapse of said civilizations. It appears that this material is usually presented by the authors as desirable without sufficient moral guidance/warnings to put it in perspective. We have been unable to ascertain whether the District/teachers do so either.
I personally believed at one time that the objections were from blue-nosed religious ideologues. After experiencing life for many decades and studying scriptures and history, I am seeing their point more and more as grounded in history, morality and the word of God. Prove me wrong.
The books are clearly objectionable according to state laws. Removals have been upheld in multiple Florida state and other jurisdictions. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once claimed “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description (pornography), and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.” But state laws now define it clearly enough to identify it when encountered.
Parents should have the ultimate say in what their children are taught. Citizen taxpayers should have a say in what their money is spent on and the direction of schools, too.
George Miller is Publisher and Co-Founder of Citizens Journal Florida, based in Fernandina Beach. He is a “retired” operations management consultant, software and publishing executive (11 years) and manufacturing management professional.
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida
