PAUL DOMBROSKI

Bellefonte

Many parents naturally want better for their kids than they themselves had. But it takes more than wanting– it takes conscious, deliberate effort. One way is to ensure that our children have free access to generously stocked libraries and learning resources.

There are powerful forces at work in our country seeking to limit what our students may learn, and to indoctrinate them to a mentality of racial superiority and exclusivity. Though central Pennsylvania has yet to suffer the full force of this onslaught, it is on our doorstep. In Florida, for example, the governor’s policies have led some schools to remove all books from their libraries aside from in-class instructional materials. In Arkansas, much the same as going on, preventing students from accessing non-class books freely. The same is happening in several other states.

This is part of a larger pernicious movement of aggressive opposition to “wokeness.” While it is not clear what that term means among opponents to wokeness, among ordinary folks such as myself “woke” means to be awake, fully alive, thriving in the light of day. It’s opposite, then, can only mean not fully conscious, living in darkness, self-isolation and selfishness. It is to live in a stupor of darkness. We should not want that for ourselves, and certainly not for our children.

We Pennsylvanians have always prided ourselves in religious and racial toleration and in joyous celebration of the free, open press. Let us continue this noble heritage.

(Paul Dombrowski is professor emeritus, University of Central Florida, and a candidate for the Bellefonte Area School Board.)