Why the right-wing always messes things up

There's a movement here in Montgomery County by some concerned citizens to address how books are being shelved in our public libraries. Now, I think this group is actually going about things in a good manner - they're not advocating censorship, nor are they wanting books pulled from the shelves...they'd just like some say in how the books are shelved so that things like a story about a gay little duck that appears to be for juveniles doesn't get put into the juvenile section. Personally, I think every juvenile should read positive stories about gay ducks to help us all live together in harmony...but I know that's not how the rest of the world thinks. ANYWAY, this group is proposing that they have a direct way of suggesting things to the library board as well as possibly start a way of putting ratings on books. I think this is a reasonable way to meet in the middle of the road between those who tattoo the first amendment onto their chest and those who'd prefer to take the evil books in question and burn them on the lawn of the library while dancing about with glee at how they are keeping the morals of their community upstanding by limiting information to its lowly flock of poor sheep who just don't know any better.

So...in theory, I don't mind this group - they've appeared to have done their homework and seem interested in just increasing information and opening channels of communication while trying to bridge a gap between the right and left wing.

However, the folks who like burning books, they've also embraced this group and have begun their own rhetoric in the local press about how horrible the library is, and how these books are eroding our society's morals, and that we need to put books into the libraries that tell how horrible homesexuality is (because there are NONE right now...how unbalanced a view is THAT?). So these right-wing kooks (who probably still think that homosexuality is a choice) will continue to divide the issue by embracing a group that was attempting to do something with forethought and planning - but will only have all that forthought and planning shot to hell by the bible-banging right-wing book-burning homo-hating hate-mongers.

One of these right-wingers wrote a letter to the local paper and even quoted George Washington (um...didn't he die more than 200 years ago?) while noting how shocked he was that there were such horrible books on the shelves of our libraries that were plainly eroding our morals which will in turn erode the very foundations of our community and eventually our democracy (this is something old George apparently said, the bit about morals and democracy - I mean, he may have been one of the founders of our country, but he was a politician after all).

So now, the group with the good, though admittedly waffle-y ideas, has become a tool of the right-wing conservatives - at least as far as the right-wing conservatives are concerned...and likely as far as the left wingers are concerned as well ("Hey look - the book burners love 'em...so we must be against 'em!"). Its enough to make a peacemaker throw one's hands up in defeat, put their sandal on their head and mutter, "mu," then walk off into the sunny distance.