vanishing walnut creek?

Walnut Creek's Controlled Reading Program.
Guest Commentary by Diane Lily.

The Walnut Creek City bureaucracy continues to plan our lives.
Yesterday's Contra Costa Times insert, the Walnut Creek Journal, carries a story entitled 'The Namesake' kicks off reading program. Walnut Creek has joined in a nationwide program called One City, One Book. Kind of reminds me of One Government, One World.

In this program the librarian chooses a book from an approved reading list which the citizens are then encouraged to read. That's not all. We can't just feast our eyes on another's culture there will also be parallel activities such as cooking classes demonstrating the foods and cultures portrayed in the book.
The main library in W.C. will be setting aside a certain number of free copies of the books for those who get there first.

Now, nobody has ever accused me of being a free spirit, do my own thing kind of person, but this just makes me mad. We citizens are alway being reported as having amongst the highest academic levels of education, the most comfortable and secure incomes, well traveled, reading the WSJ or whatever, BUT WE CAN'T PICK OUT OUR OWN BOOKS TO READ!? We have to read politically correct books about cultural and ethnic diversity? That is apparently what the majority of books on this reading list are all about.

This is just the latest in a long string of decision making-for-the-people that the City Council is engaged in. It's not enough that they want us to live in certain places, eat the "right" foods (controlling the menus of the local restaurants) maintaining a certain weight, get out of our cars, teach our kids about deviant lifestyles in the school system, make out end-of-life decisions and everybody get subjected to mental health evaluations and vaccinations. I suggest the city council read the US Constitution.

posted by Diane Lily @ 10:43 AM