Turning Point USA and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick are pushing efforts to remove or restrict certain books from Texas schools. You can call it whatever you want, but if it walks like a duck…

Turning Point had some success getting books removed from Lubbock middle-school libraries, while those same books remained available at the high-school level. Good for L.I.S.D. for taking what I think is a much more reasonable approach.

Dan Patrick, meanwhile, has pushed for tougher statewide action against school districts that don’t remove books state leaders consider inappropriate.

Now, let’s back up for a second.

We’re talking about school libraries. These books aren’t disappearing from the planet. Kids can still find them at public libraries, bookstores and, of course, on the internet.

And that’s part of what makes this whole thing seem ridiculous to me.

Every kid walking around with a cellphone has access to material that’s considerably more graphic, offensive and adult than just about anything they’re going to stumble across in a school library. If we’re pretending removing a novel from a shelf suddenly protects teenagers from the adult world, we’re kidding ourselves.

Book Bans Aren’t Just About Their Kids

But here’s the bigger issue, and it’s one I think people from all political parties ought to consider.

Book bans aren’t just about keeping their kids away from books they don’t like. They’re about keeping your kids away from those books, too.

That’s where I have a problem.

Parents absolutely should decide what’s appropriate for their own children. If you don’t want your kid reading a particular book, fine. That’s parenting.

But why should another parent, a political organization, a religious group or a government official get to make that decision for everybody else’s family?

I thought Texans were supposed to be pretty particular about people telling them how to raise their kids.

Apparently that principle gets a little fuzzy when somebody finds a book they don’t like.

I also can’t help wondering how much politics is involved here. Patrick has taken heat from some conservatives over his opposition to THC products, and now book restrictions give him another issue that plays well with his base. That’s my interpretation, not something I can prove, but the timing certainly makes it worth asking.

As for Turning Point USA, getting involved in cultural fights like this is pretty much part of what the organization does, so its involvement isn’t exactly surprising.

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My suggestion?

Go buy your kids some banned books.

Better yet, read them yourself first. Talk about them with your kids. Explain what you agree with, what you disagree with and why.

You know — parenting.

I’d rather raise a kid who has encountered uncomfortable ideas and learned how to think about them than one who has been protected from every idea somebody somewhere decided was dangerous.

They’ll probably need that advantage in today’s world.

Disaster: The Top 10 Worst Tornados In Texas History

Tornadoes are a common fear in Texas, as their destruction can cause massive damage in property, livestock, and even human lives. Here’s a long at the worst ten tornadoes in Texas history, according to the National Weather Service.

*Note: photos of tornadoes are from across the country, as many of these tornadoes happened before sophisticated modern photography.

Gallery Credit: Renee Raven