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Back to the Forum Archives So far as I know, none of my books have been banned. I feel quite bad about that. I believe getting a book banned or condemned is a mark of unique talent. It is also an almost sure road to success. All of us writers and published secretly hope we can bring it off. That is, to write or publish a book that will make some special interest group angry, then somehow bring it to their attention. Favorite targets for this strategy would be the Falwell people, or the Vatican. There are many other groups who can be helpful to us in our marketing if we can just annoy them in the right way. It doesn't take much. Some of the books that have made it, though excellent, are remarkably unprovoking in their style and presentation. For example, the Potter books have been purged from many school library shelves. These are condemned by the Falwell fanatics. They contend that magic is anti-Christian or something like that. I must ask, what is the difference between magic and a miracle? When JC turned water into wine was that magic? How about healing leprosy? Give me a break. Myth and superstition are okay when disguised as religion, but not when presented as entertainment? Get real! Another book that has been condemned by these fools is Twain's classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. There have been many others throughout history. So, what's the big deal? What's my point? Well, I'm a little behind on this, but the week, from Saturday September 20 to September 27, was banned book week. This is a week celebrated by the publishing industry each year to bring this insanity to the attention of the public. It's really about our freedom to decide what we will and will not read. Yes, it's about freedom of the press and freedom to choose. The American Library Association also participates in this celebration. In fact, they are the ones who keep track of the challenges to our rights to choose. A challenge is a formal written request that a book be removed from a library or school curriculum. These challenges are multitudinous. It seems there are large numbers of people out there who think they have a right to decide what me, my kids, and my grandchildren have a right to read. This has been going on ever since books have been published. These lunatics will give all kinds of rationalizations for their silliness. The truth is, they are suffering from an unbelievable case of egomania. They think they are superior enough in virtue and integrity to determine your and my moral prerogatives. This kind of moral bigotry is not limited to the simple minded bible thumpers. It can afflict otherwise very intelligent people. For example, no less a personage that Plato wanted to ban Homer's Iliad and Odyssey among other works. This must cause us to think of the tendency te censorship as some kind of emotional disease, an infection of the rational mind. Perhaps it is, but it must be resisted. Now here is the skinny. Throughout North America, libraries and bookstores celebrated banned book week. How each chose to do this was a matter of personal choice. I liked the choice of Ann La Petra in Marshal Michigan. This is according to an article in The Detroit News by Nick Schirriap. Petra is a small independent bookstore owner. What she did is paint her store's front window over with a pattern of bricks. Each of these bricks represented a banned book. For sure she offers these banned books for sale inside the store. Now, whenever a customer buys one of the banned books, she takes a brick out of the window. Her and her customers are bringing the wall of bigotry and hate down, brick by brick. I love it. If you love freedom, this is one small thing you can do. Buy
and read a banned book. If you believe in the Bill of Rights,
buy a banned book and read it. Don't let the thugs take your
freedom away book by book. Bring down their wall, brick by brick.
If you are interested in learning more, check out the American
Library Association at http://www.alo.org/.
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