The War On Books
There is a war raging here in America. A war against unpopular ideas. Against critical inquiry. Against free thinking. It's a war against books.
This is not a new war. In fact, this war is as old as America itself. A war started by narrow minded people who believed that their thoughts and beliefs were superior to everyone else's. Therefore, all expressions of ideas other than their own should be suppressed. And by any means necessary, they tried. They threatened authors. They legally banned books. And as a last drastic measure, they burned them.
Here it is 2007. And you would think that in a so called free society like America, people would be more tolerant of the views of others. But not so. People are still challenging books, and attempting to have them restricted in some way or removed from curriculums and libraries.
According to the American Library Association, the most challenged book for 2006 was the children's book And Tango Makes Three. This book is based on the true story of two male penguins in the Central Park Zoo who were determined to hatch an egg together. When the Zoo keeper observed them trying to hatch a rock, he gave them an egg from another couple that would have otherwise gone un-hatched. Not only did they successfully hatch a baby girl named Tango, but they went on to raise her together for years.
And moral of the story is? Well if you ask an unbiased child, they might tell say "there are different kinds of families and that's okay". If you ask a biased adult, they might scream you are "promoting the homosexual agenda".
This week many Americans like me will be observing "Banned Books Week", which runs from September 29 to October 6. "Free People Read Freely" is the theme. Being the rebel that I am, I will be reading And Tango Makes Three to my children. And not only will we be talking about tolerance, but we will also discuss the importance of being able to freely exchange ideas, even those that are unpopular.
For more on "Banned Books Week", visit the American Library Association's website at www.ala.org.
Huh. The ALA is a borderline communist organization. The author "And Tango Makes Three" of also wrote the play version of the pro-abortion "The Cider House Rules". Communism is all about the destruction of the individual and thus celebrates abortion. So that all fits together.
Gay rights will not be won if wrapped up in red. The right of gay people to marry is a fundamental human right...Communists don't care about gay people or the environment or Kyoto, they just use these things to get power.
Gay people are today subject today to the same discrimination black people suffered in slavery days. That they cannot marry is a throwback.
Black people are still scr3wed daily by the man. Cripe, could channel 20 be any whiter ?
Whenever I was told by a teacher or another adult that I couldn't read a certain book, I made sure to track it down and devour it. It wasn't so much that it was forbidden. I wanted to see for myself the subversive power of words. That's how I was introduced to "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess, "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut, The Song of Solomon, Ginsberg's "Howl" and "Fear of Flying" by Erica Jong. And you know what? I survived.
And that, I think, is the silver lining in book banning. I was the same way as a child and I am now that way as an adult. I was never a "rebel" but I am insatiably curious about all things. By reading banned books, I was introduced to some of the best literature I've ever encountered.
It's sad the certian books are banned from school ciriculumns because I think it is important for children to be exposed to many different ways of thinking. It seems that the homophobia encountered today is less prominant than it once was, but many people are indifferent towards it or take a more passive stance on either side. It seems like only a minority are still very passionate in voicing their anti-gay opinions, but their loudness trumps the indifference of others. It is important for schools to teach acceptance even though children may be encountering a differing point of view at home. Its at least a step towards acceptance.
I think the banning of books is obviously wrong and narrow-minded, but at least there is a small silver lining...
Tanisha-Neely : RE: The War On Books More..
Glad you're still here Kato. LOL! I have a copy of A Clockwork Orange, I just haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Maybe we can read it in my next book club.
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