Cynthia Davis: Students don't need to study evil to know it exists

Soon to be former Rep. Cynthia Davis, R-O'Fallon, who plans to continue to fight her political battles as chairman of the St. Charles County Republican Central Committee, has declared a new one against the filth and smut in Missouri colleges and universities.

Her latest newsletter is printed below:

If you have a child in school, it is more important than ever to scrutinize what they are being taught. Even if they are in college, you may be disappointed to find out what our tax dollars are supporting. My daughter signed up for a required English Literature Class at the St. Charles County Community College. Here is what she was presented to on her first day of school:
A Note about Class Content:


Much of the class material is adult in nature. We will discuss texts and view films that contain sexual situations, partial nudity, drug use, adult language and mature themes. If you feel uncomfortable with this sort of content, then this is not the class for you.

Is there not enough quality wholesome English Literature that we must study the negative perversions of life? What happened to the idea of studying literature that would help students aspire to integrity, honor and greatness? When I called the college to discuss this with the staff, I was told that just because I found morally decadent content to be a problem, others might differ, so it was okay. When the teacher uses the phrase, “adult language”, she doesn’t really mean adult language because adults are not expected to use profanity. She meant language that would be considered inappropriate for adults to use in a professional setting. The intellectually honest verbiage would be to call it what it is---vulgarity!

We should all be concerned when our tax dollars are used to promote ideas that harm the development of our next generation. The future of our civilization depends on our ability to pass on morality, decency and civility. When public paid classrooms sponsor materials that lower the standards, we have just significantly diminished the future for everybody. Students don’t need to study evil to know it exists, because there is plenty of it all around. If there is a choice between studying literature that promotes goodness, nobility, kindness and charity or literature that showcases women being raped, murders and filthy language, why wouldn’t the administration opt for that which builds up the moral fiber of the students? The sex and violence is all over our media, but we are at a point now where we have to search to find material that is sincerely helpful, promotes good character and positive virtues and builds up our communities. The mayors, governors and legislative bodies all across America are searching for financial resources to make up for the vandalism, crime control, babies born without their parents being married and other social ills that are being promoted in the classrooms across our country. Why is the educational establishment –the intelligentsia of our country- unable to connect the dots of what is causing societal degradation?

I encourage all students, parents and grandparents to do what you can to speak out against the misuse of our educational tax dollars. The principle of supply and demand ought to have an effect on which administrators choose what they want to offer. With more involvement, we can make a difference in the choices available to our children.