Staff Reports
The American Library Association, a taxpayer-funded nonprofit organization tasked with promoting libraries and library education internationally, is taking aim at a national event hosted by Brave Books. “See You At The Library” is Brave Books’ latest effort to create a grassroots movement around the country in support of positive values. Attendees will be encouraged to gather at their local public libraries for a story hour where they will sing, pray and read Brave Books’ morality series, along with other virtue-based literature.
American actor and Christian activist Kirk Cameron has been spearheading the movement, and he and other Brave Books authors have already toured libraries nationwide, reading uplifting and inspiring tales from the series. They have also recited the Pledge of Allegiance and played music that celebrates the country’s values. Their message revolves around uniting communities around wholesome principles and promoting what is pure, noble, and excellent.
Despite the wholesome nature of the event, the American Library Association feels threatened by the upcoming “See You at the Library” event. This group views it as their mission to promote diversity, equity, and inclusivity while, at the same time, blocking events that it feels oppose those values; unless, of course, those events recount LGBTQA literature. Taxpayers fund the ALA to the tune of $206.5 million, and its mission is supposedly to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all. However, Caldwell-Stone, the ALA’s director, suggests that any event that promotes conservative or Christian beliefs must be boycotted from public libraries as it seeks to “exploit the open nature of a public library to advance their agenda.”
🚨 1/ BREAKING: We have obtained exclusive evidence that the taxpayer-funded American Library Association @ALALibrary is circulating guidance to sabotage conservative or Christian parent groups from gathering in public libraries on August 5th. One ALA director gave suggestions on… pic.twitter.com/iBqwIChNhJ
— BRAVE BOOKS (@BraveBooksUS) June 26, 2023
It’s interesting to note that Brave Books’ initiative is strikingly similar in format to the “Drag Queen Story Hour.” This event is a widely known program in the LGBT community where drag queens read to children in public libraries. One cannot help but wonder if the ALA would boycott such a program if it promoted conservative beliefs instead?
The ALA seems to care very little that taxpayers are paying for their organization. Caldwell-Stone points out that the First Amendment doesn’t require libraries to even offer meeting room spaces. She adds that libraries should consider reviewing their policies around meeting rooms and meeting with legal representatives to determine what accommodations they should make for individuals interested in holding conservative events in a public library. Instead of being open to differing points of view, Caldwell-Stone is encouraging the suppression of free speech and censorship.
It is becoming commonplace in school districts and libraries across the country for educational boards and associations to promote an agenda that does not align with what taxpayers and parents believe. And in a day where children are used as guinea pigs for social experiments, it is no wonder that families are standing up for what they know is the right thing to do. When a government-funded organization actively opposes a grassroots effort meant to instill values in our children, it’s time to ask the question, “Why are we funding you again?”
Source:: RedState
