Willow Glen Resident
Letters & Opinions
City must reject pressure by outside values advocates
By Moryt Milo
Just a few weeks ago, it never occurred to most people who use the San Jose Library system--including the 8,000 a day who visit the Martin Luther King Jr. main library--that these community gathering places and centers of learning might actually be dens of iniquity.
But thanks to two Christian and family values advocacy organizations--the local Values Advocacy Council and the Phoenix-based Alliance Defense Fund--one might easily conclude that our libraries are dangerous places.
Regular library patrons might be startled to see an action alert on the Values Advocacy Council website containing this statement: "Not having filters is outrageous! We must make our libraries family-safe once again. We must protect our children and grandchildren from Internet pornography."
Founder Larry Pegram says when he "was made aware" that the library does not use computer filters, he contacted the Alliance Defense Fund, which describes itself as "dedicated to aggressively defend religious liberties, protect the sanctity of life and promote traditional family values." The group works by providing legal services for individuals and organizations that advance its causes.
In no time at all, the ADF, using half-truths and heavy-handed tactics, turned library filters into a cause celebre at city hall. The pressure tactics were very clever: Council members opposing filters risk being accused of being in favor of children looking at pornography.
Not only did ADF tell the community it had a problem, ADF offered a solution: Adopt the ADF filter policy exactly as written, and the organization will defend the city at no charge against First Amendment challenges--all the way to the Supreme Court.
How did a problem we didn't know we had spin out of control so fast? It might be helpful to look at what happened three years ago when the ADF swooped into the area on a different mission.
A fifth-grade Cupertino teacher was supplementing his American history lessons with handouts that took a decidedly Christian bent; when parents complained, the principal investigated and told him he could no longer use the handouts.
Suddenly, with the backing of the ADF, the teacher was suing the school district for discriminating against him and denying him his religious rights. The claim was made that the teacher could not teach the Declaration of Independence because it mentioned God. Behind the scenes, the ADF alerted conservative talk show hosts and posted this headline on its website: "Declaration of Independence Banned from School."
This charge was as silly and as bogus as it sounds. The Declaration of Independence was displayed prominently in the school and in the fifth-grade textbook. Nevertheless, right-wing talk shows perpetuated the lie, and hate mailed poured in to the school district.
This is ADF's modus operandi.
In the end, charges were dismissed; the teacher resigned, and the Alliance Defense Fund moved on to its next project.
It's up to our community to determine if there is a problem. And if there is, our community should find its own remedy. The knee-jerk reaction the ADF and the VAC are pushing is not in the best interest of the city. Rather, the city needs to proceed with all due caution.
