what's wrong with that

  Just saw on the news that the fifth district court in Texas ruled that book vendors do not have to "rate" their books according to sexual content. There was a law stating that book vendors had to disclose what sexual content was in books they were selling to schools. It was to be a sort of ratings system like we have on movies. But a suit was filed, and the court overturned that saying it was unconstitutional. I listened to an individual on the news saying how that was banning books and censoring free speech. Thing is, no one was banning any books, they were saying the content of the book as far as sexual content had to be revealed. There were no restrictions on who could purchase or read those books. No one's free speech was being infringed upon, in fact, the intent was to let your speech be heard.

 Now I admit to just taking all that in on the face of things. I'm not going to research all that and write a thesis on it. I have no desire to become an expert on the subject. I am just saying if the movie industry rates their films on content, an act designed to inform the adults and restrict the viewing of that material by younger viewers, I don't see any reason those selling books to a school can't do the same. But one book vendor was claiming it would hurt sales! School districts may not purchase his books with that sort of material in there and that would adversely affect sales. That, according to that person, is an effective book ban. I disagree, no one said he couldn't sell those books, his fear is no one would buy them. 

 Naturally the books in question, or more properly the content of those books, concerns topics that there are varying degrees of thought upon. Should grade school children be exposed to books about homosexuality, gender dysphoria, masturbation, alternative lifestyles, and all that sort of stuff? And should all that come with pictures? The fifth district court in Texas says, it's a constitutional right. Amazingly that court is conservative. That doesn't make it right however, not in my opinion. Meta and Instagram are being sued by federal authorities over the content on their platforms aimed at children. The case centers around those corporations not doing anything to protect children from online predators. So how can other federal authorities say providing a "warning" label on textbooks for children is unconstitutional. Isn't that protecting the children? 

 An argument can be made that each school district should have "assigned" content advisors that read each and every book in the library and the classroom. Their job would be to flag those with inappropriate content. Who gets to decide upon that? Is each school district to create its' own standard? If you don't like what the school allows you can remove your children from that school, go to another district. No, that isn't a viable solution at all. There has to be a common standard. 

 We certainly don't have a problem setting a common standard with other things. There are age requirements for a vast number of things. And according to the experts our brains aren't fully developed until we reach twenty-five! If we listen to the experts those books shouldn't even be in college libraries, those kids aren't developed enough for that! 

 The issue, as I see it, lies with the vendors concerned with sales. Yes, it's true that vice sells best. Anything that is sensational or controversial in some fashion always sells. Since the invention of the printing press risqué novels were written. Even before that scribes were writing that stuff! Drawings and photographs of a sexual nature have always been produced, sold and quite popular. And often it was presented as "educational" material. 

 At what age should we introduce complex adult themes to our children? It varies according to the child no doubt about that. There is concern today, by the experts, that children are experiencing puberty at an ever earlier age. Experts note that early puberty is associated with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, early sexual activity and substance abuse. Those experts have no explanation for why that is happening. I'm thinking it is because we aren't allowing our children to be children! I'm thinking it is a physical response to a mental challenge. We are expecting our children to behave like adults and encouraging that. Hard not to think that way when I hear people saying five-year-old kids can dictate what gender they are!  

 No one is banning books! There are those of us that would limit access to certain books and materials. Kids will see that stuff soon enough without it being provided in the school library. The struggle is in establishing a moral standard. That has always been the struggle. The current ratings system for the movie industry was implemented in 1968. " The current movie rating system was introduced in 1968 by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) chairman Jack Valenti1. The rating system replaced the earlier moral censorship guidelines known as the Hays Code1. The new rating system was aimed at giving parents the information they need to decide whether a film is appropriate for their family. " Why not do the same with books sold to schools? What's wrong with that?