Banning books is for bullies

GUEST COLUMN Kevin Aten, Ed.D WRITERS ON THE RANGE

ters get him drunk in a cave and his eldest daughter has incestuous sex with him. Judges 12 tells how an angry mob surrounds a Levite and his concubine, so he appeases them by handing over his companion. What happens next to the achieved nothing but an increase in wealth and power for the elite.

This was accomplished, with evil and malicious intent, by those paid by the wealthy to write and broadcast hateful rhetoric that increased fear and suspicion in ordinary Americans against anything the elite did not like: human rights campaigns for racial and sexual minorities, the governments and citizenries of other countries, educated people who knew better, even our own neighbors. If it threatened the enormous wealth and power of the 0.5% (as if they couldn’t sacrifice a little), con- lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

MICHAEL

KRISTEN

ANDREW are just runninga recess scrimmage! Becoming a sport o cial is easy and virtually free. Once you call a game or two, it gets in your blood. e smiles and the hard work of the young people will touch your heart. Your friendship, and the service with coaches and fellow o cials will also last a lifetime. e Colorado High School Activities Association just launched a new #YouLookGoodinStripes campaign to recruit new o cials and the association will pay registration for the rst year. e link can be found onCHSAANow.com by clicking on the “O cials” tab at the top right of the page and following the “Sign-up” link. sacri ced woman is too gory for me to describe.

K. Kevin Aten, Ed.D., is a Durango native and president of the Durango and Cortez Football O cials Association. Aten also assigns soccer o cials in Southwest Colorado. He can be reached atkkkevinaten@gmail.com.

NOTE: is guest column was previously published in the e Journal and e Durango Herald on Dec. 14, 2022.

Yet the Bible hasn’t been a target of book banners; moreover, some zealots attack books they’ve never read. ey just have a list.

People on the warpath about “dangerous” books started urging libraries and schools to ban books they found objectionable in 2021. at discontent bubbled to the surface during COVID-caused school shutdowns and has now erupted into a servative media hacks made their own fortunes belittling it in the minds of people who should have used the sense they were born with but didn’t.

Some of us, after decades of writing letters and emails to the powerful of the party, finally gave up and left it. Those courageous people who stayed are fighting for the soul of the party, and will not go along with the extremists who don’t even know, or care if they do know, that they are undercutting our democracy, our economy and the lives of ordinary people who work for an honest living and

MINDY NELON Marketing Consultant mnelon@coloradocommunitymedia.com

AUDREY BROOKS Business Manager abrooks@coloradocommunitymedia.com

ERIN FRANKS Production Manager efranks@coloradocommunitymedia.com

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com culture war.

In Idaho, where I live, book banners have targeted the state’s three largest cities of Boise, Meridian and Nampa, all in the Treasure Valley in southwest Idaho.

So far, only Nampa has succumbed to the pressure. Oddly, the book tossing was started by just one woman, Tosha Sweeney, who emailed the Nampa school board to demand that believe in decent behavior. For decades, Americans have found themselves facing squeezed incomes, the increasing costs needed to pay one another to do the things we need done in this country, everything from filling potholes to teaching our kids, while a tiny minority of Americans gather more and more to themselves and laugh at the rest of us.

The Republican Party will not be the Grand Old Party until ordinary members stop listening to the hacks and think for themselves. God help us.

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