Tim Graham: Touting the Leftist Crusaders Against “Book Bans”

The Left is outraged by parents who oppose their indoctrinating ways, particularly when it comes to books. They promote a resistance movement against “book bans” that pertain to assigned and available books in the classroom and school library. Technically, this is accurate within the school setting, but the media portrays it as a complete ban on books for the public to see. They paint themselves as defenders of books and book learning as well as compassionate defenders of the “marginalized” who need to read.

For instance, National Public Radio (NPR) recently promoted a story about “activists” who circumvent book bans with “guerrilla giveaways” and “pop-up libraries.” NPR’s tweet suggests there will likely be a record number of book bans this year. However, the story only dedicates 21 seconds of soundbites to conservative views out of a total running time of 7 minutes and 18 seconds. The remainder of the time is for polemics from the Left, including an activist from “Foundation 451” celebrating how “one family came in with a (transgender) teen and picked up ‘This Book Is Gay’ and just cried. Their father held them, and they both thanked us so much.” The sole dissenter, Tiffany Justice, the co-founder of Moms for Liberty, pointed out that these books contain pornographic passages and images, and that it is illegal for adults to push pornography on children. However, the story failed to provide any explanation of the offensive content.

Similarly, the Daily Beast’s article about “The 100-Year-Old Woman Fighting Book Bans” focused on the Nazi comparison and did not provide an opposing view on the issue of book bans. Grace Linn argued that banning books is akin to what the Nazis did with book burning. As reporter Michael Daly emphasized, Linn views Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis as stirring up the same kind of evil that her husband had fought. The whole story was centered on the Nazi comparison, and no counterargument was given.

What’s interesting about this kind of journalism is that it is meant to provoke outrage, yet it fails to provide a balanced view of the issue. The Left silences dissenting opinions and associates them with disinformation. They ban conservative ideas and advocates and label them as Nazis without giving anyone the chance to challenge them. The Daily Beast even highlighted one activist in Utah who suggested that the Bible is one of the most sexually disgusting books out there. However, the American Library Association named the Bible one of the “most challenged” books back in 2015. It is doubtful that NPR would promote “guerrilla giveaways” of the Bible.

Tim Graham is the director of media analysis at the Media Research Center and the executive editor of NewsBusters.org. To read more about Graham and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: LubosHouska at Pixabay