Book bans are on the rise in schools across U.S.
America is witnessing censorship in our media and in our schools.
Senate Bill 74, introduced in the Georgia General Assembly this year, threatened legal action against librarians for “distribution of material deemed harmful to minors,” potentially making it an aggravated misdemeanor.
PEN America (originally Writers, Essayists, Novelists) is an advocacy organization for all writers founded in 1921. The organization documented 23,000 books banned in the U.S. since 2022. The most common themes are LGBTQ+, race, and mental health. The school principal, with input from the school board, makes the final decision to remove a book from the library. Judy Blume books, along with classics “To Kill A Mockingbird” and “Huckleberry Finn,” are among the most banned books.
Members of the American Psychological Association are concerned about the negative effects of limiting students’ access to books - including a lack of critical thinking and lower reading engagement - resulting in a less-informed worldview.
SANDIE WEBB, DECATUR
Note to readers: SB 74 did not end up passing in the 2025-26 legislative session.
USPS must change to secure its future
As we are all aware, our U.S. Postal Service has been in fiscal trouble. The answers seem clear that drastic measures must be initiated now.
One suggestion is to cut mail delivery by two more days a week, keeping Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday as delivery days. We can keep delivering packages and express services seven days a week.
Cut delivery associates to part-time status. Reduce or eliminate health care options and profit-sharing. There are other incremental cost-saving initiatives to explore on a post office-by-post office basis.
When you keep raising rates, first-class mail will keep failing.
As a country, we must make changes now to secure a future for our Postal Service.
LARRY CHARLES, STONE MOUNTAIN
Campaign season is upon us, so pay attention
As we are increasingly bombarded with political ads for candidates ahead of the 2026 midterms, please, please listen and pay attention to what they are promising to do to make your life better.
No campaign promise benefits attacking a political opponent. Look for the good in one’s message - not the bad they want you to see in their political rival.
And - most importantly - when the winning candidates take their seats, remember the promises they made. Hold them up and hold your representatives accountable. These elected positions are there to enable benefits and hobble threats to the well-being of constituents. Elected officials are responsible to the voters who put them in those positions. Hold them accountable.
At least, that’s the way this is supposed to work.
KEN MEAD, MARIETTA
