To the editor:

The most recent issue of The Breeze included a number of opinion letters that contained both confusion and misinformation. It would take a book the size of “War and Peace” to address everything but I would like to discuss just a couple of items.

One writer just does not understand how our congressman and both our senators cannot vote for a bill that spends billions of dollars since some of it trickles into Lee County. Maybe it is because they, unlike some apparently, realize that our country is $34 trillion in debt. Yes, that is trillion with a TR. We cannot even imagine an amount that large and no one has offered any pathway to get out of debt. But one thing is sure, when one finds himself in a hole the first step to getting out is to stop digging. In our case we need to stop spending. Radical idea, perhaps. How about we demand our representatives submit a balanced budget each year and live within their means. They need to learn to “just say no” to spending more than we have coming into the treasury.

Another, a former educator, knows what she is doing and she knows she is being deceptive with the readers. The letter inserts the phrase “book banning” deliberately because the writer knows it will elicit a specific response from Americans. Book banning brings up images of the Nazis burning books in the streets of Germany including the classic great works of literature, religion and many other great books. Gov. DeSantis is focused on a very specific area. He does not want young children exposed to pornography in our schools. He does not care if high school students read “The Catcher in the Rye,” but he does care if young children are exposed to pornographic material at an early age.

Instead of Purple Group people reflexively opposing his efforts, work together to make sure that books that do not belong in the school library are not there and books that do belong there are there. There has got to be common ground.

And of course, another writer cannot start her letter out without putting out the “don’t say gay” lie. When you start with that lie everything you say becomes suspect. Apparently the writer does not like the rules or guidelines Lee County has put in place. Well, newsflash, these things are put in place for a reason.

I will say the same thing I told my teacher friends a couple of decades ago when multiple layers of standardized testing was added to the curriculum. That testing was being added in response to kids graduating who could not add or subtract. Who could not speak correct English. Who could not write a resume.

These guidelines are being added because most Americans don’t want little white children being taught they are oppressors and little black children being taught they are victims of oppression. Americans do not want young children being encouraged to question their gender. Being encouraged to initiate sexual transitioning without even informing the parents of what is going on. Many parents don’t want to see BLM flags in student rooms while at the same time students who wear a T-shirt with the American flag on it are sent home because it offends someone.

We are blessed to have many great dedicated teachers. We also have a lot of teachers who went through the college education system run by a bunch of left wing, anti Americans professors and many come out radicalized. Any teacher who insists on indoctrinating instead of teaching has no business in our classrooms.

Keith Lakes

Cape Coral