Banned Book Week

I received an email today from one of my favorite book sources Alibris alerting me to banned books they have available. Thinking that this list was from the 1950's and earlier, I was surprised to learn how current some of these books and authors were, as well as how many I have read being totally unaware of their "banned or challenged" status.

In fact one of my favorite books The Martian Chronicles is on the list in addition to all of the Harry Potter series . I faintly remembered William Faulkners' novel As I Lay Dying and John Steinbecks' Of Mice and Men making the list and I was slightly amused by Stephen Kings' and Maya Angelous' "offensive" designation.
In the past, Lady Chatterleys' Lover and Catcher in the Rye were banned, which of course just made them that more delicious and desirable when I was growing up and I can still hear my mothers rants (expressing strong disapproval) over the seizure of James Joyces' Ulysses by the US Postal Authorities in 1918 and 1930.

So who decides whether a certain book or author is objectionable and how does a book become "banned" or more often "challenged"?

According to the American Librarian Association, parents challenge materials more often than any other group and the top 3 reasons in order are that the material is considered to be “sexually explicit” contains “offensive language,” and is “unsuited to the age group.”

Personally, I believe these are all legitimate concerns and I applaud parents who are actively engaged in the guidance and education of their children. However their opinions should not be imposed on me or my children. I get to decide what I (and my children) read, listen and watch, not someone else, regardless of their intentions.

No one is entirely immune to the seduction of suppression and censorship and commonly it is practiced for benevelent, humane reasons. From Banned Books on line, a number of democratic countries, including Austria, France, Germany, and Canada, have criminalized various forms of "hate speech", including books judged to disparage minority groups. In the 1980s, Ernst Zündel was convicted twice under Canada's "false news" laws for publishing Did Six Million Really Die?, a 1974 book denying the Holocaust. On appeal, the Canadian Supreme Court found the "false news" law unconstitutional in 1992, but Zündel was sucessfully prosecuted under Canada's "Human Rights Act" for publishing this book and other material on his Zundelsite.

I do not agree with the beliefs (and actions) of many people and I am often offended if not repulsed by them. But a law forbidding behavior that exposes a person to hatred or contempt seems highly subjective to me. If this was supported in America, wouldn't all the Bush critics , war protesters, anti- capitalists, and media mavens who make no attempts to hide their own hatred and contempt be prosecuted?

Most of the media coverage of Hurricane Katrina and the perponderance of sensationalism, editorializing and political posturing that ensued was contemptible in my opinion. But I will reserve those comments for another more appropriate time. So discovering that this week (Sept. 24 - Oct.1) was Banned Book Week seems especially serendiptious.

More erudite and accomplished people have said it more eloquently than I will ever manage, but the message is always the same. Free people read freely.

Keep in mind these words of Noam Chomsky ( probably the only opinion we share),
"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all."
Now if only he and his like minded colleagues acted as if they believed their own words...

So read a banned book. Visit a banned book website. Blog your approval and/or disapproval. Celebrate your own freedom of speech and expression. Don't let all the muckrakers have all the fun.

contemplation 

Powerful solar flare erupts

When Katrina was dominating the news last week and most of the media was focused on victims and who and what was to blame, I missed this story.

"One of the largest solar flares on record was recorded by NOAA Space Center in Boulder, CO at 1:40pm EDT on Sept. 7. Forecasters are predicting significant solar disruptions over the next few days".

Now I wonder how this could be politicized? Do you think George Bush creates solar flares? Do you think Homeland Security fails in allowing them to occur? Do you think this is just another example of how the impoverished are further victimized and how uncaring, selfish and negligent the current administration is?

If you want to learn more about sunspots and solar flares (without the political spin and dead body counts) go here.

Just a bit of fun

Supposedly this is my brain pattern.

Your Brain's Pattern

Your mind is a firestorm - full of intensity and drama. Your thoughts may seem scattered to you most of the time... But they often seem strong and passionate to those around you. You are a natural influencer. The thoughts you share are very powerful and persuading.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

An Unnatural Disaster

Robert Traciniski exposes the real damage in New Orleans in an article from The Intellectual Activist.

What Hurricane Katrina exposed was the psychological consequences of the welfare state. What we consider "normal" behavior in an emergency is behavior that is normal for people who have values and take the responsibility to pursue and protect them. People with values respond to a disaster by fighting against it and doing whatever it takes to overcome the difficulties they face. They don't sit around and complain that the government hasn't taken care of them. And they don't use the chaos of a disaster as an opportunity to prey on their fellow man.

Katrina Aftermath

For all the victims of Katrina (and in many ways all Americans have become her victims), I am very sorry. I want to rescue you and help in the massive clean up. I want to comfort and care for you. But your survival does not depend on your economic level, age or skin color as the Congressional Black Caucus implied today. It depends primarily on your own behavior.

If you want help you must not threaten or harm the people who wish to assist you (with water, food, bedding or transportation). Carrying weapons , looting, becoming a "mob" does not encourage such help. Of course the lawless, looters and thugs that remain in the city of New Orleans may be the minority but their behavior impacts everyone.

The widespread destruction has created desperate people in desperate circumstances. I understand this.

So what did people expect when a Class V Hurricane was predicted to hit the area and EVERYONE was advised to evacuate?

Informed, thoughtful, caring people realize that not even the mighty U.S. Government can save us from the terror and destruction of a hurricane (especially if we do not heed their warnings and evacuation requests).
For others and those who have never been accountable and have always relied on the government (or someone else) for support and subsistence, I can appreciate their disappointment and anger.

As devastating as the destruction was , it was NOT UNEXPECTED. Scholars and scientists have been predicting such disaster for years. New Orleans has only survived thus long by a system of levies and canals. It has been literally sinking for years. See New Orleans geography .

I like to believe in every crisis and for all the hardships, there is always something to be gained, an opportunity, an insight, something worthwhile. I don't believe Katrina's considerable damage is any exception. I want to help people recover even if that requires starting
over. I want to enable them to pursue and achieve their dreams and I want all of us to learn and benefit from the experience.

This will be a long arduous process requiring difficult decisions in increasingly difficult times. Sadly, the leadership in New Orleans and Louisiana has had difficulty demonstrating the integrity, competency or honesty that may be necessary in rebuilding a city and securing its future. You can read about this in Cities and Crime and here for further information.

Some people have never been accountable and never will be. They will always seek blame outside themselves and continually consider themselves as victims. Maybe the destruction caused by Katrina will change New Orleans perception of itself as victims (and victimizers) held hostage by greedy, corrupt, and selfish politicians. Perhaps after all the pain and extensive suffering, we will ALL recover, and be even better than before like the Phoenix that rises from the ashes.