The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on March 28, 2023. Submit your own letter to the editor by clicking HERE.
Be alert to the fascist strategies Governor Ron DeSantis is exerting on the public education system — our children and grandchildren — in the state of Florida! The voucher system is a way to use taxpayer money to help the rich children attend private schools, which do not have regulations like the public schools. This takes away money from public education of all children, especially those from lower income families, to give it to families that don’t even need financial help!
Banning books from school libraries is the scariest tactic of all. How could we forget so quickly that book banning by a state board puts shackles on the judgment of teachers, administrators and local school boards and leads to book burning of books that challenge the state’s ideology? This strategy was the hallmark of the rise of fascism in Europe preceding WWII. More destruction of our public educational system! Then on to the college/university realm — an English professor in Florida was fired recently for teaching racial justice. DeSantis’ Bill 999 bans ethnic, racial organizations on college campuses!
This governor’s posturing to run for president of our country sounds more like an opportunist authoritarian dictator than a democratic leader! He is taking the ax to many principles we as a democracy hold dear.
Linda Weaver, Punta Gorda
