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We read ‘Peyton Place’ and somehow didn’t become debauched. Here’s why.

We read ‘Peyton Place’ and somehow didn’t become debauched. Here’s why.


Somehow we grew up OK

In Florida book bans, could the Bible and its sex scenes be next? | Column, Feb. 10

This morning at breakfast, my wife and I were discussing Scott Maxwell’s very thoughtful column on whether the Bible should also be banned. During our discussion we realized that as teenagers we and our contemporaries all knew all the page numbers of relevant passages in “Peyton Place.” We then questioned each other about how many of our friends grew up to a life of crime, prostitution or general debauchery as a result. The answer for both of us was a resounding “none.” The value system taught us by our parents, teachers and other adults in our lives was stronger than a few passages from a book.

Barry Kreiling, Brooksville

Learn to love reading

In Florida book bans, could the Bible and its sex scenes be next? | Column, Feb. 10

As a former middle school teacher it is my firm belief that while parents should feel free to restrict what their children read, they should not determine what is suitable for other people’s children. For children to be proficient readers, they need to learn to love to read. Removing fine literature from our libraries and restricting their exposure to ideas certainly decreases the chance of this happening.

Shelley Foster, Clearwater

First, do your elected job

House leader calls book obscene | Feb. 4

I have yet to figure out why the governor and the Florida House leader believe that they are duty-bound to micromanage the school systems throughout the state. They can’t seem to manage home insurance costs, child welfare systems, habitat and a host of other items that affect just about all Florida citizens.

Bob Rosenberger, Spring Hill

Our unreliable death penalty system

Is it a good idea for Florida to make it easier to execute people? | Editorial, Feb. 9

As a Floridian, I understand the outrage over the Parkland tragedy and the subsequent verdict in the Nikolas Cruz trial. However, given Florida’s poor track record with the death penalty, I am concerned that recently proposed legislation would only make it easier for the state to kill innocent people.

Bills filed in the state Senate (SB 450) and House (HB 555) would permit a nonunanimous jury to recommend a death sentence. Even if multiple jurors voice their opposition, a defendant could still be sentenced to death. The bills would also permit a judge to override a jury’s recommendation of a life sentence and impose death instead.

Setting aside questions of the morality of capital punishment, these bills should be rejected based solely upon Florida’s unreliable death penalty system. There are more than 300 inmates on Florida’s death row, second highest to California, which no longer executes people. At the same time, our state has an appalling error rate in capital cases. For every three individuals executed, one is later exonerated. Thirty death row inmates have been exonerated since 1973, the highest number of any U.S. state. Floridians may be divided on capital punishment, but I believe we can all agree that Florida has proven untrustworthy in capital cases. The passage of these bills would place innocent lives on the line.

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Tyler Clair Smith, Daytona Beach

They should be ashamed

I teach in Florida schools and in this gray world, I better be ‘woke.’ You can look it up. | Column, Jan. 25

Shame on anyone who accuses public school teachers of grooming or indoctrinating or brainwashing America’s children. Shame on anyone who blames public school teachers for increases in learning problems, emotional problems or psychological problems plaguing America’s children. Public school teachers have been increasingly burdened with the task of solving society’s problems while at the same time trying to teach the “basics” and prepare students to become productive adults. Why now, all of a sudden are teachers and public schools in general being accused of the most egregious offenses? Good teachers are leaving. I worry that our country could become a land of robotic, mindless sheep who have lost the ability to think, to reason and to control their own destinies. Shame.

Jeanne M. Schutz, Largo



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