It's gone too far

Over on the Spectacle Blog, Parker Peeveyhouse links to an article on a high school student who is running a banned-books library out of his locker...and kids are becoming readers because of it!  This is a stick in the eye for those who want to ban the books, because saying 'don't read that' automatically ups the curiosity factor in the kids!  (Nya nya you bigoted sourpusses!)  What really got me, though, was the sorts of books on the banned list.  Even this partial list was a shocker!  They banned the Qu'ran, Canterbury Tales, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, His Dark Materials, Sabriel, Divine Comedy, and other books that are wonderful, many of which are staples in the humanities classes I took in high school, and which these kids will be seeing in college courses too.

And the main factor appears to be, once again, religious intolerance.  As in, you must believe exactly as I do, and I'll ensure that by giving you nothing to change your mind.  Which, as anyone who has studied any history at all knows, will not work.  In fact, suppression of ideas tends to have the opposite effect than the one desired!

I am continually surprised at the narrowness of the minds of people.  Good, well-meaning and church-going people who believe they are following the Word of their Lord by doing narrow-minded, cruel, bigoted things that can actually be contrary to what their holy works say.  Things like deciding who can marry is a big example--or who can live, which a major point in the Middle East; but what I am talking about now is the restriction of knowledge itself, the thing that can broaden the minds of the young, our world's future, and maybe resolve some of the global problems we're having...instead of escalating them. 

We have all heard the outcries against so many books lately.  A Newberry Award winning book blasted for having the word 'scrotum' in it (The Higher Power of Lucky).  Classics that have long been accepted suddenly becoming too hot to handle and banned in school libraries (Lolita, Catcher In The Rye, and recently a furor over Farenheit 451) and some newer works that threaten certain people's sensibilities.  A good many of them appear to be speculative fiction, as well.

But the lists are growing and appear to be arbitrary.  First a furor over Harry Potter.  (Holy crap!  Children might become Satanists if they read these books!)  Instead, these seven tomes have brought a new generation of readers to the libraries. 

Then there are the protests against Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials books.  The man's an athiest and he has a senile god who has abandoned the world.  Instead of Pullman's fictional god being a villian, as some seem to think he is portraying the diety as, people are suffering because Pullman's villian is the church itself, not god, and the problems are caused by a lack of god's presence in the church!  And that's what has people upset.  (Oh, boo!  A fictional church is evil!  Could you be paranoid for a reason, peeps?) (And do you notice that not everyone can agree on which point is the objectionable one?  God is portrayed as senile=bad; a church is portrayed as not being one with god's will=bad.)  Pullman states his feelings on the matter here far better than I could.

In any case, the people who cry and scream when they are offended by a book are not the real problem.  It is the overly-PC nature of the schools and library officials who decide to pull any book which offends one person's sensibilities.  Which is censorship, which is failing to serve the public by providing materials for them to read and thus use to form their own opinions on things, perhaps even develop a  slight ability for empathy, for seeing someone else's point of view.  I mean, heaven forbid (she says ironically) we raise up children who are able to look at both sides of an issue and evaluate their response!

What is it that makes so many folks afraid that someone disagreeing with their take on life, god or whatever as dangerous?  Why are they so afraid that their children will, by one exposure to something not of their parents' beliefs, become some heretic?  Are they that insecure in how they raise their children?  Or is it that they question themselves?  If their faith is strong enough it should be able to handle a book or two that is not perfectly in line with their world view. 

Rant over.  Whew. 

For more information on book bannings, check out Banned Books.

Comments

[Scott from Oregon]

poisons everything...

[jjdebenedictis]

I seriously want to hug that kid with the library in his locker!

[freddie]

Great article and great post. Agree 110%.

[Bevie]

I agree with you about the real problem being that our public institutions are being controlled by Politically-Correct thinking. Sometimes it seems Americans have lost their courage and become cowards when it comes to making a real stand on anything.

Percentage-wise, the religious nuts in this country are small in numbers. But they're all we seem to hear about anymore. And you're right about everything they say and do going contrary to the god they claim to follow.

I don't particularly like every book you listed, but my solution to dealing with them is simple: I don't read them. Saves on matches, you know?

[freddie]

Then again, ALL of these books were banned??

[Angie]

If their faith is strong enough it should be able to handle a book or two that is not perfectly in line with their world view.

I think that's the key point right there. [nod] If people really believe in their own faith, if they've been proactive in raising their children with faith and actually living the teachings of their faith at home for their kids' entire lives, and if their faith really is a guide and comfort and makes their lives better -- if all that is true, then no book, whether novel or non-fiction or whatever, will be able to drag their children out of it.

The parents (or other adults) who are afraid of mass apostasy among their youth must have some reason for their fear, no? Maybe their faith really isn't as in-touch with the modern world as they'd like to think. Or maybe they haven't been quite so diligent in the moral instruction of their own children. Maybe they don't attend services regularly, don't pray at home, don't read and study and discuss their own religious writings regularly. Maybe these adults who are so afraid their children will scamper off into the godless world just because of some novel they read don't actually live their own faith, and haven't been showing their children what value their faith has in their lives. Because seriously, "Because I said so!" doesn't work, at all, not for chores and not for naughty words and not for being nice to your little brother, and certainly not for feeling a true devotion to your faith. You have to model it and show why it's such a great thing, or all the commands in the world are pointless.

It's funny how many people who just sort of call themselves members of this or that faith don't attend services (or maybe just once or twice a year, on the big religious holidays), don't study their holy writings with their family, don't pray, don't do any of the things religious people are supposed to do to actively pursue their faith, but then when they have children suddenly they're all fretful and start going through the motions "for the children." (No, not every family is like this, but I've seen enough to get eyerolly about it.)

News flash -- yes, your kids did overhear you laughing with your neighbors about how you cheated on your taxes, and yes, your kids were paying attention (even if you thought they were focused on the TV) when you told your spouse about how that dumb sales clerk forgot to charge you the extra $$$ for the whatever, and how their loss is your gain. Your kids will pay a lot more attention to what you do than to what you say. If you only talk about your religion, and that not very often, and don't actually live it, then if your kids do wander away from your faith at some point, it's not the fault of a YA writer or a biology teacher.

[sigh]

Angie

[laughingwolf]

could not agree more, d... well said :)

what's pissing me off is the canadian government[s] taking the 'word' of a self-proclaimed expert on 'ethics', especially as they pertain to the medical profession and community... while she makes a few valid points, in my opinion most of her 'decrees' are full of shit... her own bias is front and center, that being, what else? PC! GRRRRRRR

[writtenwyrdd]

Most of the ones I mentioned were mentioned in the article about the school-locker librarian as being on that boy's school banned list. The rest have been mentioned as being banned, not banned in recent news.

[Helen Ginger]

Oh, for heaven's sake, quit pussyfooting around and tell us what you really think. ;-) (I'm kidding.)

I agree. Quit banning books. Instead of shutting down minds, those who ban books are shutting their eyes to reality. The more you ban, the more desirable the books become to kids. Why not let them read them now while you, the parent, can read along with them and have discussions?

Stop. Think. Listen.

Helen
Straight From Hel

[writtenwyrdd]

Now, PC is all well and good for equalizing the playing field so all races, creeds, genders and sexual preferences get equal treatment under the law and also so that society can learn to consider how others not part of the social "mainstream" (read: white, straight, christian, male default in the US) think and how these policies/attitudes affect minorities and women as well as the "mainstream." But it does go to ridiculous extremes all too frequently--these book bannings being one thing.

I could go on but then it would come out sounding like Rush Limbaugh as I go off on how my state spends money very unwisely to assisted the handicapped and yet has managed to degrade the systems that were supposed to assist those in need. It'd make me sound less like the liberal yet fiscally conservative person I am and more like a nutjob.

[writtenwyrdd]

Hey, that was me pussyfooting! I could really go on a tear about this stuff.

[Sherri]

If they don't like His Dark Materials, then my book doesn't stand a chance. In mine the Devil's the good guy.

[freddie]

That's how I know it will be a hit once it's published! : )

[freddie]

Ahhh. I really must not read at 5 a.m. before I've had coffee.

[writtenwyrdd]

What Freddie said. Nothing wrong with controversy. I'd prefer to avoid a Salamon Rusdie (sp) fatwa death threat, but controversy can sell books and, who knows, get some fans and open some minds.

[writtenwyrdd]

My tendency to write in convoluted sentences may not be that helpful either!

[writtenwyrdd]

One expert rather than a panel? That's the fast track to fascism.

[Charles Gramlich]

Strangely enough, they may be doing a service to some kids by making them feel like rebels for reading. What a better way to promote reading? but alas, there'll be plenty of kids who obey the rules and don't discover these wonderful works.

[Ello]

I agree with Charles. Whenever you have hypocrisy of this nature, it elicits wonderful rebellions and stirs up the genius of the repressed to fight back against intolerance. The beautiful thing about the overly repressed and self righteous is that they never recognize the harm they do on to themselves.

[Sarah Laurenson]

Beautifully written and well said!

[Liana Brooks]

I wonder if it's truly religion that drives people to ban books, or just the fear of books themselves.

Looking over a banned book list, a lot of them are good books I've enjoyed. But they aren't written at an 8th grade reading level. They're written to be thinking books for adults who understand the history behind them (Candide and Dante's Divine Comedy come to mind). Out of context those books are puzzling. And for people who struggle to read the back of a cereal box those books are intimidating.

I can picture a desperate parent trying to ban a book because their kids came and started asking complicated questions like: Where is France? and Who is the Pope?

[writtenwyrdd]

Well, when these book ban demands make the news, the shrill cries of "satanism" or "ungodly" do spring up more often than not. And banning the Koran? If that's not a religious issue color me surprised

[writtenwyrdd]

True, but i think the attitude it throws off, that you can ban anything you disagree with, will foul the air more than it will do good. What I'm really afraid of is the perpetuation of this sort of tactic towards any goal. Kids will see that the shrieking demands for book banning work and that can't be good for society.

[writtenwyrdd]

Mixed blessings, as I said to Charles.

[writtenwyrdd]

Thanks.

[writtenwyrdd]

So true! Walk the talk.

[writtenwyrdd]

I don't really believe it's lost courage so much as a paranoia that we will be though horrible if we aren't PC enough. It's gone too far in some ways, and clearly not far enough in others. Seems like with the book banning issue good people are being overly PC in areas where it's just keeping the peace, not being "fair", which you could call lack of courage.

The real issue seems to be in part a sense that government must meet all your demands. Maybe it's the result of too much permissiveness, too much government acting as big daddy bailing out everyone's booboos, or satan putting worms in all our ears. But whatever it is, people are expecting that if they cry loud enough, they can get what they want. And they get it.

[writtenwyrdd]

That's a cool kid. If I had a kid, I'd want one with that kind of initiative and courage. Not to mention a reader. ;)

[G]

Beautiful rant.

Since I was, and still continue to be, a heavy reader, I would have no problem with my kids reading a few of the abovementioned titles.

Ironic that the schools would ban those books, because those same books (and ones that are lot more sexually graphic) are available at the local library.

Some of those titles that you mentioned (Canterbury Tales and the Divine Comedy) I actually took a crack at reading when I was younger. While I wasn't able to get a complete grip on them, for schools to ban these relatively tame books borders on the stupid.

Perhaps these schools should spend a couple of days and actually READ THEM, before they attempt to inflict their shriveled viewpoints on a gullible public.

[Bevie]

I think you hit it on the head, Angie. People are more afraid of being exposed for what they are because they no longer follow the faith themselves. We're pretenders.

To often we "have a form of godliness, but lack the power therein".

[Bevie]

Is there a social mainstream in this country? Or has a very small minority of white, straight, christian?, males simply say they are and we accept that as true?

We tend to believe what is reported in our news media - and we shouldn't. The news media distorts the truth as badly as politicians.

Not sure how you can talk about equalizing the playing field and helping others and then say you're starting to sound like Rush Limbaugh. Isn't that kind of like saying Osama Bin Laden is religiously tolerant?

[writtenwyrdd]

You misread what I wrote, Bevie. I said if I went on a real tear about it I'd start sounding like Limbaugh.

And yes there is a default assumption in our culture. Every culture has one, in fact. And our is white, christian, straight male.

[Sherri]

Well, then, bring on the controversy!

[laughingwolf]

yeah, one person... and an import from england at that... as if we colonials were incapable of thought?

sure, she has degrees, but all i ever hear coming out of her mouth are her 'opinions'!!!