LETTER: Jim Bilbray is alive and kicking

I guess I have to kick off borrowing a quote from Mark Twain, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” In her March 5 letter, Jeannette R. Wiley wonders what I would think (if I were alive) of proposed legislation from my daughter, Assemblywoman Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod, “to replace government with multiculturalism.”

First, that is not what the bill does. It merely codifies in Nevada statute what the then-Republican-controlled Legislature enacted in 2015. In that legislation, it replaced “government” with “civics.” “Government” is the system of rules and the people who make them. “Civics” includes government, but also includes the role of citizens within government. I think that is a good thing.

Regarding multiculturalism, its inclusion in the bill is nothing new. The 2015 law also included teaching multiculturalism. And to answer Ms. Wiley, I think that is a good thing as well. Failing to fully appreciate the diversity of our citizens would result in laws that disenfranchise them. And since when is opening up your mind to different cultures and beliefs a bad thing?

While I am proud of my daughter’s work, this isn’t her bill. It is the Department of Education’s bill, and because she is the chair of the Assembly Education Committee, it was her job to hold the hearing.

Just to recap: Still alive; the Republican-led Legislature of 2015 started us down this road; being better informed about people with different backgrounds is good; and I am so proud of my daughter.