By Peter Lemiska

If nothing else, leftist propaganda can be fiendishly clever. Using selected facts and distorting them to suit their needs, those on the Left are working hard to brand loving and courageous parents as radical enemies of free speech. Their disgusting claim that parents, and conservatives in general, are out to ban books is a transparent attempt to equate them to the fascists of 1933 Germany and the burning of all books they designated as anti-government. Those books included works by Ernest Hemingway, Jack London, and Helen Keller. Today, the Left would have us believe that there’s no difference between those works and the pornographic material being thrust on young students across the country.

Putting aside that repugnant lie, their hypocrisy is staggering. In fact, they are the enemies of free speech. We see examples of it on college campuses, where conservative speakers are shouted down and run off one campus after another. We see it on social media, where conservative opinions are routinely blocked. And we see it in their leftist ideology, which allows no opposing opinions on issues ranging from race relations to the LGBTQIA agenda to climate change.

Those on the Left, the woke warriors, have determined that only they can decide what speech can be allowed and what must be shut down. These self-appointed arbiters of social justice have infiltrated our private sector, our government, and our education system. Under the flag of diversity, equity, and inclusion, they’re dedicated to creating their own vision of a just society. In schools, they begin by dividing students by race, shaming one group and exalting another. We used to call that segregation and discrimination.

And after inventing various euphemisms for what used to be called aberrant behavior, they’ve developed a bizarre plan to benefit the minute number of students troubled by those various behavioral traits. Instead of helping them deal with their issues, they’ve chosen to accommodate them, to bring the rest of the student body into their world. Their misguided logic is simple: If everyone learns to embrace abnormal behavior, eventually it’s no longer considered abnormal, or even unusual. So young children, even toddlers, are now being exposed to material that would make a sailor blush. While parents struggle to shield their young children from salacious and inappropriate material, classrooms are handing out what can only be described as pornography. We used to call that pedophilia.

That is what parents are trying to keep away from their young children, and that’s why the Left is accusing them of banning books. Those parents only want what’s best for their young children. They want them to have a quality education while enjoying the precious innocence that’s supposed to come with childhood. They expect an education system that imparts knowledge without tampering with developing young psyches. And they don’t want their children to become obsessed with ideas that would never even occur to them were it not for the twisted priorities of these woke warriors and the corrosive reading material they’re providing.

Unlike socialist, communist, and totalitarian countries, America recognizes the God-given right of free speech and of conscientious parents to raise their children as they see fit. Here, parents can teach their children that racial discrimination in all forms is wrong. They have the right to keep sexually graphic material away from their young children until they feel the time is right. And they bear the primary responsibility for helping their children align their moral compass.

They entrust teachers with an awesome responsibility — to educate future generations and help them compete in an increasingly competitive environment. Too many are failing that responsibility. A few, for whatever reason, seem more interested in robbing young students of their innocence. They have no business being around children. Others have been either seduced or intimidated by the woke agenda. They’ve come to believe they’re doing what’s right. Regardless of their motivation, their obsession with indoctrination, rather than education, is clearly reflected in students’ abysmal math and reading scores. Various studies show that U.S. students rank significantly lower in math and reading skills compared to students of other industrialized countries.

Liberals and progressives have given us a strange new world. It’s a place where concerned parents are now labeled as fascists and enemies of free speech. It shows how dangerous government propaganda can be, especially when it’s abetted by collusive news and social media outlets. Fortunately, when the welfare of their children is at stake, courageous and determined parents won’t be deterred.