I find it hilarious that a brave Menasha man, Guy Hegg, made the front page of the Post-Crescent this morning by daring to question Maplewood Middle School authorities about their choice of a book. I have to praise the Post-Crescent, though, for doing what is usually not done when parents raise such objections. Rather than just letting school officials talk about the book and dismiss the concerns, they have reproduced a couple of the objectionable passages from the book - giving parents a chance to see that maybe Guy has a legitimate point after all.

Whether you agree with his objection or not, why is this on the front page? Isn't there something about the Packers that could be there instead?

Guy is not asking that the book be burned or banned from the community. He is questioning whether it's sexual and lewd content is appropriate for the sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders in the school. Given that the school can only select a tiny percentage of the millions of available books to provide for kids in the school, this is not a matter of determining what books can be written and published, but which priorities will be used to select a few books for the kids. And Guy as a parent is perfectly justified in wondering if the book is a reasonable choice.

Interviewed school officials make it sound like this kind of objection is unheard of, and that Guy is taking things way out of context. But read the passages in the article and maybe you'll see a different side to the story.

The book is "Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging" by Louise Rennison.

Parents speaking out, worried about what the schools promote and expose their kids to? I think it's a healthy thing, as long as discourse is civil, reasoned, polite, and done with due respect to procedures and rules. Remember, these are our kids, and parents should be watchful. We can respect and trust authorities and teachers, but it's fair to ask questions occasionally and raise perspectives they might have missed.

Guy, I don't know enough to fully address the concerns you have raised, for I haven't read the book, but I applaud you for caring enough about the education and welfare of your children and other children to be willing to ask some tough questions. Sorry if this gets you marked for life as some kind of rebel, but thanks for your courage. More parents need to be involved and watchful.

Democracy. I think it has its merits.