Banning Books

THE NUMBER OF BOOKS which have recently been banned in American public schools is skyrocketing, and has already reached the hundreds in several bright red states. It is easy to anticipate that soon the number will begin to reach beyond a thousand in most of these benighted places, and, as they say, the sky's the limit. Who knows? America's public schools in states controlled by conservative Christian Republicans might well "achieve" a list of banned books which will make the famous, or infamous Catholic "Index of Forbidden Books" of the late middle ages look like child's play. And let's be damned sure that we all understnad that this new phenomenon of banning books on a massive scale is completely and purely the project of conservative Christian America, or more accurately, white conservative Christian Republican America. Its their baby, so to speak. Proof of their desire and intent to remove all traces of homesexuality and transgenderism and racism from these white Christian conservative United States culture. Most of the banned books have to do with sexual gender and orientation, and racism, including cute little stories intended for children in which a kid who has two mommies or two daddies has a bit of trouble fitting in at first, but whose potential friends finally see the light, the light of non discrimination, and befriend the child of gay parents, just like one of their own. Sweet, precious stories teaching great moral values to kids, values like acceptance and tolerance and love. Christian conservatives seem to think that such sweet, pro -love books are somewho harmful to America and American children. They must be crazy. Hell, they are crazy. among the more famous authors to join the ranks of the prohibited is the renowned and successful romanace writer, Nora roberts, of whom most people have heard. Somewhere in Texas, Ithink it is, Nora shall be read no more. She is reportedly furious, and plans to sue. Moe power to her. As they say, payback is hell. This brigs too mind the hilarious approach taken by Bertolt Brecht, when his books failed to appear on Hitler's list of books which must be burned. Brect, noting that all the books on Hitler's burn list were good books, feigned fury when none of his books were evidently deemed by der fuhrer to be good enough to merit burning. but where does it stop, if it even does stop? Pulitzer prize winning novelist Toni Morrison among the greatst writers in American history, has been banned in some locations. Warmly I remember high school, fifty years ago, in which the book "The Catcher In the Rye" was banned - and every kid had a copy of it in his or her locker. The good news is that generally censorship doesn't work. For the moment, we the American people must accept and act on the reality that our culture and country have nothing to fear from books of any sort, but a great deal to fear and dread and fight against from the people who want to ban any of them.