I sometimes feel like America is the Twilight Zone and I am Rod Serling. For example: The children’s book “And Tango Makes Three” (2005), is one of the most banned books in America. It is a true story about two male penguins in New York’s Central Park Zoo who adopt a baby penguin. For those who struggle with what true means, let me be clear: this actually happened and was witnessed by many people. There is nothing explicit in this book; it just shows this different penguin family and how it came to be. The state of Florida seems to be the place it has caused the most consternation, with Texas not far behind. Meanwhile, the Bible is in most of our school libraries and is considered appropriate reading for all ages. Really? The only person who would say that the entire Bible is appropriate for all ages is someone who has not, in fact, read the entire Bible.
Imagine you sit down at bedtime to read your 5-year-old a nice story from the Holy Scriptures. You think, Jesus was in the line of David, so let’s read about the great king. You read from 2 Samuel 11; I’ll give you a synopsis. King David gets lazy and doesn’t go with his army to war. Instead, he’s hanging around the castle being a Peeping Tom and he sees the beautiful Bathsheba (one of his most trusted officer’s wife) bathing on her roof. He sends soldiers to forcibly bring her to him. He rapes and impregnates her, and then tries to trick her husband (Uriah) into having sex with her so he thinks the baby is his. Uriah won’t enjoy himself while his soldiers are on the front line, so David gets him drunk, hoping this will loosen Uriah’s morals. It doesn’t, so David tells a henchman to put Uriah up front where he will be killed. David and Bathsheba then get married. Night, night – sleep tight – don’t let the bedbugs bite!
I believe that children should read age-appropriate materials in school, at home, and in their religious communities. The school district I live in used to allow children from any one of the schools to get books from other schools in the district. Yes – a 1st-grade child could get a book from the senior high school by just asking for it. I asked the superintendent if they could institute a rule that the child needed parental permission, and they did this with no fuss. I didn’t scream at the school board or bully the librarian; I simply made a polite and reasonable request, and they felt it was an appropriate thing to do. Things have changed a lot in 25 years.
Children shouldn’t read pornography, but they should be allowed to tell the class what they and their two moms did over summer break. We are being led into a twilight zone that is trying to convince us that it isn’t guns or Christian Nationalism or insurrections that are the danger; it’s drag queens and education and equal rights that we should fear. It is an old story, and too many Americans are falling for it. The powerful and self-righteous are blindsiding us, forcing us to argue about nothing while they rob us blind and dismantle democracy. Time to wake up to the real dangers around us. Hint: it isn’t books about gay penguins.
Prayer – Give us insight and discernment, God of every person, so we can be awakened to the truth. Amen.