‘Free State of Florida’ isn’t all that free

I have read a number of opinions, ads and articles in the Sentinel extolling our “Free State of Florida” and how righteous our path must be, and I think my red brothers and sisters forget ... the blade of freedom cuts both ways. For every “freedom” you are handing down as the modern Big Brother and big government, you are taking some away.

For instance: the Moms for Liberty might be winning the book screening process for our kids, but at what cost? They are supposed to have been given a parents’ bill of rights, and the right to decide which math or history book to allow in our schools. The loss of freedom cut the other way for my grandson, who is in a gifted class. The freedom sought by these groups cut his potential right out of the curriculum. His loss is that a culturewar mom is going to take away his trigonometry book, and with it his freedom to reach his full potential. By placing their arbitrary limits on the truths that would otherwise yield insight, understanding and unleash the peak potential of our kids, it is lost to the sword of freedom, which in this case cut out our uncomfortable truths, and blunts our kids’ natural curiosity and desire to explore knowledge, and learn from our mistakes. And now there are questions our teachers are actually forbidden (not free) to answer.

This big red wave of freedom is not American tradition as we have come to know it. This “Free State of Florida” is dragging us down by limiting our potential, creativity and our financial well-being.

Collin Braynard Maitland