America’s culture war is still being fought, and New York is the latest flare-up. The state’s lawmakers recently introduced legislation that replaces the terms “father” and “mother” from state child custody laws, using gender-neutral language like “gestating parent” instead.
The lesson for American parents? Remain vigilant.
This isn’t a left-versus-right issue; it is the common-sense crowd—a strong majority of left- and right-leaning Americans—versus the crazies. But the problem reaches far beyond state legislatures; aggressive activists are seeking to upend society based on an exceedingly narrow ideology that isn’t mainstream for Democrats or Republicans, and the impact is being felt all the way to school libraries.
One of the craziest segments of American society is the library-industrial complex, supported by the American Library Association (ALA). For years, radical librarians have been peddling sexually explicit material to children. Books like “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” “Gender Queer,” and “Let’s Talk About It” are commonplace in today’s libraries, introducing kids to everything from lube, masturbation, and oral sex to breast and vagina removal, sometimes via graphic images.
A battle is currently playing out in Wisconsin, where the Menomonee Falls School District is under fire for introducing toddlers and preschoolers to same-sex relationships. Middle school and high school students educating themselves about different sexual orientations is one thing; it is another thing entirely for two-year-olds to learn the lesson.
Unfortunately, ALA-backed librarians will go to any length to spread their ideology and indoctrinate our youngest generations, brainwashing them at the expense of parents who are often kept in the dark. And that is the best-case scenario: Too often, librarians lash out at parents who dare to speak out against the ideological indoctrination of toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary school students.
I know firsthand. After Amanda Jones, a Louisiana librarian and ALA advocate turned Hollywood “heroine,” fought for minors to access sexually explicit material in public libraries, I argued that this content was not suitable for that environment. I also accused Jones of “grooming” children.
Jones then sued me in my home state of New Jersey for defamation and false light, with the ALA’s backing. I filed an anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss the case on First Amendment grounds, only for a judge to dismiss our motion. I firmly intend to appeal, making the case that “grooming” takes many forms.
While it benefits ideological groomers to narrow the focus to sexuality alone, sources from ABC News to Oxford University and the European Union’s executive cabinet suggest that ideological grooming is a very real phenomenon. This means brainwashing impressionable minds and indoctrinating them for years and decades to come.
Let my case be a warning to all parents. I have heard horror stories from countless parents across the political spectrum—all testaments to the aggressive activism of the ALA, individual librarians like Jones, and other corners of radical America.
The ALA alone lobbies lawmakers and vilifies parents in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, calling those who dare challenge sexually explicit content in public libraries as “book banners.” Apparently, objecting to porn for kids makes me equivalent to a book burner.
While the culture war rages, there are ways for parents to fight back. For instance, the National Book Rating Index (NBRI) is a free resource that aggregates reviews from multiple independent sources to assign a single “National Rating” for each book.
The NBRI reveals how content concerns—such as language, violence, sexual themes, or ideological elements—may influence the final rating. This rating system educates parents about their kids’ potential reading habits when they’re not at home, allowing parents to make an informed choice in how to communicate with librarians and other educators. Good-faith librarians can use the resource themselves, and many do, along with teachers and administrators.
Why? Because they are good librarians, not bad-faith actors.
Above all else, the way to fight back is to be brave, courageous, and informed, speaking out when “crazy town” comes to school or the public library.
The First Amendment is our weapon for winning this particular war; we must speak truth to power, no matter the consequences.
We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of the Daily Signal.
