- April 28, 2024
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Dear Editor:
One takeaway from the Observer’s recent story about a local challenge of the Bible as being inappropriate learning or reading material for our school-age kids is that extreme violent content in any book could be viewed as more of a problem than sexual content.
The Bible, as pointed out in the challenge, indisputably is full of graphic and vengeful, often sadistic, violence, including genocide, infanticide, rape and calling for the killing of homosexuals.
Most of the books that have been reviewed and removed by school boards as inappropriate for students have been done so based on sexual content, depiction of sexual activity, and dirty words. And sexual content, as a basis for “book banning”, is what our governor and the laws he championed are fixated on while graphic violence takes a back seat, if any seat at all. In terms of potential societal harm or harmful influence on school-age kids, it is difficult to make the case that exposure to sexual content is more damaging than exposure to horrific, hateful violence.
But given that the Bible is also not lacking in sexual content depicting incest, rape, bestiality and prostitution along with the horrific violence, it seems very reasonable to conclude that it’s inappropriate in a K-12 school setting, and our School Board should concur.
Margaret Minutaglio
Palm Coast
Dear Editor:
After reading stories in both the Observer and FlaglerLive about the recent Bible book challenge here in Flagler, I began imagining that the Bible with its graphic sexual and violent passages detailed in the challenge was a movie with that kind of content.
It appears that most movie theaters would likely give it an “R” rating. And such a rating designation would not allow anyone under 17 years old from entering the theater to see it without being accompanied by an adult over 21 years of age with identification. So, that would disallow almost all K-12 students from going alone to the movie version depicting the graphic passages that the book challenge detailed.
Yet, apparently any student can check the Bible out from a school library unaccompanied by a parent. And this is a conundrum our local School Board should consider in its review of this book challenge. Seems they have uncomfortable choices … redact the problematic passages, have an adult over 21 accompany kids at checkout time or simply remove the book. I would vote for the latter.
Mary Zito
Palm Coast
Dear Editor:
I appreciated the guest letter regarding Pine Lakes Parkway published Sept. 28. While there might be a case for widening sections of Pine Lakes Parkway in the future, I would be careful to caution against “induced demand,” the hellish cycle of constantly widening a road only to invite more traffic congestion.
I fully applaud the call for traffic-calming measures along neighborhood "shortcuts" such as Whippoorwill and Whirlaway Drives. Citizens should take the opportunity to identify other such shortcuts where local roads are utilized by non-local traffic, often blowing through stop signs or driving too fast for neighborhood conditions.
In my own neighborhood I live next to a classic collector road, which is one of only two avenues into and out of the neighborhood. Despite the relative quiet, morning traffic is surprisingly loud and unnecessarily jammed up because of the inefficiency of the road system.
Laying out future development of Palm Coast in a grid pattern versus the hierarchal series of the endless loop roads, cul-de-sacs, and dead-end streets the city currently consists of would go a long way in providing better street connectivity, easier navigability, safer intersections, and what has been a premium to this point: coveted sidewalks.
The city of Palm Coast begins public discussion regarding Imagine 2050: City on the Rise, an update to the region’s comprehensive plan, Oct. 10 at City Hall and Oct. 11 at the Palm Coast Community Center. Citizen input is crucial, and everyone should have the opportunity to raise issues and lend their opinions.
Palm Coast is a beautiful coastal community and unique place to live. Like much of Florida, the phenomenal population growth presents a challenge and growing pains. Through these public meetings, citizens have a rare opportunity to engage with their government during the planning process, before the comprehensive plan is updated and adopted.
More information can be found at the city’s website: palmcoast.gov/imagine2050
Casey C. Cheap
Palm Coast
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