Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week is coming at the end of the month (September 29-October 6).

I like this comment about censorship:

“Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime . . . .” — Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, dissenting Ginzberg v. United States, 383 U.S. 463 (1966)

I have no patience with censorship anyway. It strikes me that attempts at censorship indicate a lack of confidence in the validity of one's arguments -- if your arguments have no substance, the only thing you can do is muzzle the other side.

The ALA site is being cagey about ascribing challenges to certain groups, which I can understand: partisan political advocacy undercuts their message. All the reports I've seen implicate such stalwart Americans (snicker) as Focus on the Family, American Family Association, their leaders and followers. But that's merely anecdotal. But when one looks at the works challenged, one begins to see a pattern: anything that disagrees with their religious beliefs is evil and needs to be purged from public view. (This is not 100%. I have no illusions that the PC left is not just as intolerant and authoritarian. They're just not as well organized.)

Most challenges to books come because of sexual content. Most challenges are initiated by parents. I can certainly understand parents wanting to control their children's access to information about sex, but I have no patience with their demands to control other parents' children's access. Easy solution: be a parent. Tell your kid "not allowed." Leave other people's kids alone.

I honestly don't understand a mindset that says "no one can be allowed to see this" rather than "I won't permit my kids to see this."

So, celebrate Banned Books Week -- donate one to your library.