Readers comment on state indoctrination in schools, an upcoming School Board race and more

Indoctrination vs. education

How is an increasingly radical Republican Party similar to Chinese communism?

Look at Gov. Ron DeSantis’s anti-“woke” legislation as it applies it to state universities. Teenagers, untaught about critical reasoning, are encouraged to “rate” their teachers' lesson plans and to report instances where they feel personally assaulted by a professor’s focus on a particular subject.

This closely resembles policies in China that encourage students to turn their teachers in for instruction that they may feel does not mirror exactly the state’s party line.

Unacceptable comments in China are reportedly poorly defined, and interpretations are varied depending on the Communist party official who reviews them. Nonetheless, teachers can, without recourse, lose their jobs. If this sounds familiar, it mirrors exactly the vague but threatening criteria DeSantis and legislators have enacted into state law.

This is more ironic given that Florida students now must receive mandatory instructions on the evils of Communism. Clearly Republicans’ wish to indoctrinate rather than educate.

In China the verb for reporting one’s teacher for remarks that may be counter to the party line is "jubao." We need a way for Florida citizens to "jubao" our out-of-control governor and his lackeys.

Greg McGann, Gainesville

More letters:

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Readers commenting on developing the Lee property, abortion, Ukraine and more

Let someone else run

In my humble opinion, Diyonne McGraw needs to give her bruised ego a rest. She broke the rules of election, plain and simple. It's difficult to believe the first thing on her election list wasn't, "Do I live in the district I want to run for?", but maybe it was not.

If she did check that detail, she ran afoul of the rules. If she didn't, a more detail-oriented candidate might be better for our students. Either way, McGraw and her ego should let someone else run for the School Board.

Jeffrey H. Dissell, Gainesville 

Who are the extremists?

If you are someone who wants to make America great again, you are in Hillary Clinton’s world deplorable and in Joe Biden’s world extremist. That describes half the country.

Who are the extremists: The party that lets criminals go free or the party that feels criminals should be punished and off the streets? The party that wants to enforce immigration laws or the party that wants open borders regardless of who comes or what comes through? The party that wants energy independence or the party that wants to kill the energy industry in the name of climate change? The party that wants a misinformation board to stifle free speech or the party that respects free speech?

The party that’s wants socialism or the party that wants capitalism, free enterprise and hard work, which created the greatest country in the world? The party that believes voter ID is racist or the rest of us who understand anyone can easily obtain an ID and all have the right to vote? The party who wants mob rule when things don’t turn out the way the want or the party of a rule of law?

And, lastly, the party ad nauseam that spreads Russia collusion but stifles the Biden’s crime family’s shady dealing with Russia, China and Ukraine?

Eileen Maren, Gainesville 

Conservative contradictions

Oh, I get it, it’s “my body, my choice” when you don’t want to wear a mask, but it’s “your body, my choice” for women’s reproductive decisions.

Oh, I get it, you can fly a flag in front of children with obscenities against Joe Biden, but children can’t study our history because that would make them uncomfortable.

Oh, I get it, you can criminalize all abortions, because abortion is not OK, but it’s OK if a married woman is pregnant from a rape, because, you know, she and her husband won’t mind her carrying it to term.

Oh, I get it, it’s OK to phase out Social Security and Medicare and raise middle class taxes, but it’s not okay if the wealthiest 1% are asked to pay taxes.

Oh, I get it, you can put an unqualified white woman on the Supreme Court, someone who never tried a case to a verdict, but it’s not okay to seat a qualified Black woman.

Oh, I get it, it’s OK, even patriotic, to storm the Capitol to overturn a free election, but it’s not OK to support that freely elected president.

Did I get this right?

Debra Burke, Gainesville 

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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Letters on DeSantis, China, School Board, extremism, abortion, more