I don’t like pork. In fact, I hate it and refuse to eat anything that has pork in it.
And because I don’t like it, no one else should eat it either.
Doesn’t that sound crazy to you? One person doesn’t like something and now that person wants to make everyone else feel the same way.
That’s not how the world works. And when you apply this thought process to the real world, it’s pretty obvious that you don’t realize that wars were fought in America so that people could have the freedom of choice.
Last week was Banned Book Week and the Herald-Advocate ran a story about the event and showed the amazing display of banned books that had been at the Marian Wright Edelman Library. First, let me say kudos to our local library for everything the staff does to for literacy in the community. And boy, do we need to promote literacy and reading in our community — and I’m not just talking about kids. (Hint, if you’ve ever read some of the social media posts by grown-ups, you either know what I mean or you’re a part of the problem.)
Well, it seems that some people don’t understand the purpose of Banned Book Week, that it is a stand against censorship. I know this because one of these people stopped by the office to voice displeasure. This visitor picked one of the books, I guess because this person never shared the title of the book, which had sexual content, and made photocopies of the pages to show me the evils of the book.
Is this book, whatever the title of it was, inappropriate for children — as the visitor described as elementary school students — in , my opinion, yes. Should the book be banned from libraries? No.
You’re probably shaking your head right now and wondering how can two things be true at once. Let me explain.
This book would never end up in an elementary school library. And children can’t go to the public library and check out books without parental consent. So, when a child hands an adult a book, guess what — it’s the job of that parent or guardian to determine if that book is appropriate.
Not the government, not the library staff, and not the local newspaper.
Why is it that the same people who want the government to control what people can and can’t read are usually the same people who didn’t want to wear a mask in 2020 when a worldwide pandemic killed millions of people, particularly
because so many folks didn’t know how to wash their hands? But I digress.
I can understand that the visitor who showed parts of a book that didn’t sit well with their beliefs doesn’t like that piece of literature. It’s fair that the visitor has feelings about a book that they deem inappropriate. What’s not fair is for that visitor or anyone else to force their beliefs on the entire county or country. One person should not define the books that are available to the public for public consumption. If you don’t want your children to read something, make sure you know what your child is pulling off a bookshelf —whether it’s at the library or Barnes and Noble. In other words, be an active parent in your child’s life. Be the influencer that you think the newspaper, social media, and television are.
Talk to your children about right and wrong. About how fair and unfair life can be. Take that energy you brought to a business in your home. It’s not the media’s job to rear your children, that’s your one job. Taking it seriously would be a good idea, in fact, a much better idea than photocopying pages from a book attempting to shock the editor of the paper.
Nice try. It didn’t work.
And in case you missed it, this is the purpose of Banned Book Week and, for the record, this editor stands by the message of this movement.
Banned Books Week is an annual event that highlights the value of free and open access to information. The event is supported by a coalition of organizations dedicated to free expression, including American Booksellers for Free Expression, American Library Association, American Society of Journalists and Authors, Amnesty International USA, Association of University Presses, Authors Guild, Banned Books Week Sweden, Children’s Book Council, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), Freedom to Read Foundation, GLAAD, Index on Censorship, Little Free Library, National Book Foundation, National Coalition Against Censorship, National Council of Teachers of English, PEN America, People For the American Way Foundation, PFLAG, and Project Censored. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. Banned Books Week also receives generous support from HarperCollins Publishers and Penguin Random House.