Well, it is exciting to report to our friends that Raymond has had some wins from the recent town elections. There has been a group of us that have been working to maintain traditional values in our town and right now we have been concentrating on our library. Last year I won a seat on the school board.
We want to thank Cindy Bennett for this Op-Ed. If you have an Op-Ed or LTE
you would like us to consider, please submit it to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.
Honestly, I have had a lot to learn. I am still on the learning curve. I do see things in a different light being on this side of the proverbial fence. I am listening and learning and hoping to be a voice for good in my town.
I have also realized that there is a lot going on at the public library. A small group of concerned taxpayers/ concerned parents have been conversing with the local librarian and current trustees as to some of the adult content topics that are in the children’s section of the library. Two of the folks attending these meetings include Mike Drago (a current state representative) and Julie Laughner (budget committee member and author of articles on GraniteGrok and long-time pro-life activist). Several parents have gone to monthly meetings between the trustees and the librarian.
Since this was the only public meeting that has been untelevised by the local cable station, we have requested to have this meeting recorded and put up on RCTV as of last November. This has been great for the town’s people to ask questions, and we have been able to send the link of videos around so that more citizens were able to see the questions and answers personally. The conversations have been difficult and sometimes debate has occurred. We have had to bring out polar opposite views and discuss them. We have found that the opinion of the current board is very close to the American Library Association and the modern agendas that, in traditional and moral opinion, are damaging to children.
We are specifically concerned about the sexualization of our children. Our group has been supporting Viriginia Fernold who has volunteered to join the board of trustees of our library and she has some great ways to help ensure the safety of children from the sexualized topics that are being put out in the open for children. I personally supported her by creating her campaign video which we put on RCTV and spread around social media, I collected money to help make signs to put around town and we all helped to place those signs all around town. Along with our candidate, who has now won the seat, we proposed 2 citizens petition warrant articles for the ballot. We were surprised at the opposition that we endured. Article 43 states:
“The Citizens of Raymond hereby declare, from this point forward, that the downstairs children’s library room in the Dudley Tucker Library will be free of any books with content containing nudity, gender identity, sex or sexual references in writing or illustrations”.
We have been scoffed at by local citizens and we have even endured ridicule from the Union Leader. We were called book banners and other names by those who opposed us. At the Deliberative Session in Raymond, our librarian countered our warrant article with some potty training books and other books that she felt would be terrible to do without and that our warrant wording would make it so that they would have to get rid of 93% of the books in our children’s collection. It was a very weak argument because everyone on both sides knew what the article was concerned about. In my opinion….even in potty training books we don’t need nudity. It seems to be trivial to feel like we won big as a town that our Warrant article 42 passed. And this is where we are at.
It’s a win to keep damaging content out of the children’s section of the library. It’s hard to imagine we are here.
We also had another article which requested to pull out of the ALA (American Library Association); that article did not win. However, I hope that as we proceed, more people will realize that our library is owned by the citizens, and we do not want to support an entity such as ALA which is against parents, and even against the innocence of the minds of children. The truth is, the reason that we are in this difficult place, is that conservatives have taken our hands and eyes off the public libraries .
WE have not been involved and we did not speak up sooner. I hope that seeing the extremes that the library is going to, into the realms of immorality and modern agendas, will get the attention of many taxpayers that do not agree with this. I have heard from many conservatives that “nothing works,” or “ we have to accept this because it’s the current trend.”
This sounds like giving up to me. For a true American Patriot, giving up is not an option. Protecting children should be our highest priority. I hope that more taxpayers take part in their communities and get back some control of their towns by standing up for their constitutional rights and freedoms. The best way to deal with what is flooding our country is to get to the root of the trouble. We need to restore love for God and our Country. Love for humanity and respect for the human race and the Almighty God who created us.
Not only do we warn about damaging content, we need to also suggest good content that will encourage and strengthen our youth. Our library has purchased the Tuttle Twins books as we have also recommended many other excellent resources that kids can grow by. We also need to find the forums available to us. We pay into this system and it’s time to speak life into it. Speak up at the library, school board meetings, town meetings and whatever meetings are open to public comment. Do it with grace and dignity. Don’t go in mad and angry at anyone. We can’t expect those who hold the seats to do what we want them to do if we have been unavailable and unseen up to this point. We can do better .
The most important thing…we need to do something. Get off the couch, cancel an appointment, meet up with a fellow Patriot, speak up in person. Right IS right and WRONG IS wrong and we need to stop acting like nothing works. Edward Everett Hale wrote:
“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
I am very excited to see this progress to do what is right in our community. I hope that it encourages you and inspires you to also get involved. Face to face is really the best way. If you are doing your thing, please be encouraged to stay faithful and don’t give up. Seek for the small ways to find real progress. Don’t stop trying to inspire others. Thanks for reading.
