Louisiana Voice

Sometimes the best-laid plans go KA-BOOM! in your face.

A few years ago, Louisiana legislator Valerie Hodges pushed through a bill giving state aid to faith-based schools, the intent being that only Christian schools would qualify. Later, when an Islamic school in New Orleans applied for the state aid, her head nearly exploded.

Now, it’s happened again and if it becomes a trend, the collective heads of evangelicals everywhere will likewise will morph into living landmines. They might even resort to desperate measures, like slashing the budgets of public libraries in the apparent hopes of eventually starving them out of existence (see story below).

You see, even as schools in Oklahoma are distributing Bibles to students to be used in the state’s mandated education curriculum, one school district in Texas has reacted quite differently to the ridiculously idiotic concept that public libraries should be closely monitored with the intent of banning objectionable books.

The CANYON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT decided, albeit temporarily, to comply with House Bill (HB) 900, aka the Restricting Explicit and Adult-Designated Educational Resources (READERS) Act.

Accordingly, according to an email from school district Superintendent Darryl Flusche, the “standard for library content prohibits books that have one instance of sexual content…Therefore, HB900 doesn’t allow numerous books, including the full text of the Bible, to be available in the school library.”

Flusche subsequently CRATERED to public pressure and the Bible was reinstated. But its brief ban certainly focused the bright light of hypocrisy and double standards on the hysteria that has accompanied Republicans’ sudden outrage over book content. It also – or should have – reminded us of the book burnings (along with attacks on the media, women’s rights, civil rights, and even freedom of speech) that invariably mark the beginnings of any tyrannical rule.

And make no mistake, there are more than enough LURID STORIES AND VERSES in the Bible to make a hardened sailor blush. They include adultry, incest, bestiality, and graphic violence to women and children.

But woe unto the unfortunate librarian who stocks To Kill a Mockingbird in the library shelves.