When I was a child, a common rhyme was, “Sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

Unfortunately, today there are citizens who are afraid to use their right to freedom of speech and opinion lest they be tagged with an undesirable label. I am not one of those people. My opinions are based on research, Biblical moral standards, and sound judgment. You may not agree with me and that is OK. This is still a free country, but your rights stop where mine begin and my rights stop where your rights begin.

We are governed by the majority not the minority. Minorities with the appropriate skills have a right to work and participate in all aspects of our society, but they do not have the right to demand that the rest of us embrace their life style, habits or beliefs. By all of the attention that the LGBTQ community is getting, one would think that they make up at least 50% of our country’s population. In reality from the last Census, 3% of US citizens identified as gay. You may say that many were afraid to admit it. So, lets say 6% of US citizens are LGBTQ. That is still a minority!

Let me be clear. I do not care who or what you sleep with. It is not my business. My philosophy has always been “Live and let live” as long as no one gets hurt. I do not dislike gay people, but I do not want them pushing their lifestyle down my throat. I am greatly offended by grown men dressing and acting like sex-starved women prancing around shaking fake and real body parts pretending to be women. I don’t know of any women who act that way especially in front of children. Such performances are hurting our children and that is where I draw the line!

Library “Drag-queen Story Time” is being sold as encouraging inclusion. These librarians may believe the inclusion argument, but that is not the real goal. So what is the goal? That question was posed during a TV panel discussion made up of four women and one man who self-identified as a gay man. He said, “I’ll tell you what the goal is” There is a far, far, left group of men who have latched on to the LGBTQ’s movement and its “inclusion” message, but their goal is not inclusion. He went on to say that the main goal is to “Desensitize Society to Pedophilia.” Goal two is “recruitment” — his words not mine.

That response hit me like a ton of bricks! Think about it! For years we have been telling our little ones that if anyone touches you inappropriately or says things about your body, run away and tell someone. Now, many schools and public libraries have sexually explicit books for children whose immature minds cannot comprehend. To a child, that “Drag” person looks and acts like a clown. So, what is a child to think if later an adult male offers them candy or trip to get ice cream and wants to touch them inappropriately? They may logically think, “It must be OK.” After all, they saw such things in school or in the public library.

Last spring, I read in the Times Observer the most informative yet disgusting article on the subject. In case you missed it, I am including direct quotes from “Facts of life are becoming too extreme” by Betsy McCaughey.

Her examples are from real books already in some of our nation’s schools. She says, “Sex ed in middle schools include graphic lessons on anal sex, oral sex and masturbation with stick figures illustrating body positions.” Supplemental reading in middle school libraries includes “Sex, Puberty and All That Stuff,” a book explaining foreplay and how to rub the clitoris to produce pleasure. Massachusetts’ curriculum tells seventh-graders how to use cling wrap as a dental dam around their teeth for safe oral sex.” I can’t bare to type any more of this! Look up the rest of the article for yourself.

If like-minded men want to party together in “Drag” at home, fine, but your show is not for children. I am personally offended by those public “Drag-queen” performances especially the ones that mock my religion. That mocking proves my point. This is not about inclusion and I will not support any entity that promotes such performances in any format.

It is the parents job to tell their children about “the birds and the bees.” They will know when they are ready. Schools need to stay in their own lane and improve discipline and bring every child up to his or her best standards in reading, math, history, sciences, and problem solving skills. Do that and we will all prosper.

Joanne Oviatt is a Pittsfield resident and retired teacher.