It's A Gay Book

I know most societies are more closed than those in North America. The U.S. is a nation of social change, fast social changes. One of the areas in which we have had changes is in how gay people are seen and treated. I think that discrimination against gays is not so prevalent here anymore. Most gay people are open about their preferences.
But every once in awhile there is news of some homophobia. George Bush has made a career of gay bashing to win votes from anti gay types, and some religious and other conservative groups like the Boy Scouts, seem to treat gays badly. Today I read a news story about one of the anti gay over reactions to sexually equality in society. It seems that a picture book for kids called 'And tango Makes Three' has caused a stir in Shiloh, Illinois.
It's a book for toddlers based on a true story of two male penguins raising a baby penguin from a fertilized egg in New York City's Central Park Zoo. The fact that the two penguins raise the chicken "as their own" has some parents wondering whether it promotes two male or two female humans raising a child together.
A number of parents at Shiloh Elementary School say they want the book taken from the school library because they think it tackles a topic their children aren't ready to handle. (I wonder why , instead of protesting and banning the book, those parents don't simply tell the school not to let their kids read the book) But the school system refused to remove it. Short of banning the book, the parents (a minority of the parents are protesting) who are complaining suggest that the book be moved to a restricted area of the library with written permission from a parent required for access by a child.
The Superintendent of the district, Jennifer Filyaw, says the book is "adorable" and age appropriate (it is written for ages 4-8). "My feeling is that a library is to serve an entire population. It means it must represent different families in a society, different religions and different beliefs. One parent said when his child brought the book home and he read the part that said the two male penguins "must be in love", he shut the book and questioned the school about it's appropriateness. I agree with the school in not banning the book and think that the debate about the book reflects that my society is dealing well with homosexuality.
First, the protest is mild and respectful. Secondly, the book was in the library, no one in the school seeing it as a "gay book". Thirdly, there seems to be recognition by most who don't want the book there that children can't be "made gay" by exposure to such books. After all, children that age have no sexual awareness anyway.
In most countries such literature would never had made its way to a school library. I think the fact that it did here shows that the school is interested in teaching the value of love and kindness, and sees that as crucial to a child, not whether the players in the lesson are gay. Ok....your turn. Do you think the book should be displayed and read freely in that library? We may debate whether the free speech aspect of that book, but in Ujgest, Hungary (a district in Budpest) the town councilors of that province clearly knows that only what they like to hear should be freely spoken, written or read.
And the town mayor, Tamas Derce, has just reacted to the suspension of the local newspaper and TV station by the councilors ( they say the news is biased) in an unusual way. So how will people of Ujest get their news? Hold on to your keyboard.....Tamas says he is reviving the medieval tradition (this guy must be a Muslim?) of the town crier to give people the news. Haha "I will hire someone who will stand with a drum at busy junctions of the district, and another one with a loudspeaker. The will give the news to our people."
I like Tamas' method of fighting the councilors' censorship. Tamas says the town criers will keep crying out the truth until the councilors reverse their ban on the local news mediums.