For my first post, I thought it would only be appropriate to touch on a subject that has been very dear and influential in my life- books. I grew up in a household where my parents encouraged me to read books often. After dinner we would all scatter throughout the house, each individual clutching a book and heading to his or her favorite reading spot. Soon I became an avid reader, eagerly devouring as many books as I could. I moved from the Nancy Drew books to authors such as Patricia Cornwell and Anne Rule. I won an award in the 6th grade during a reading competition, for reading more books in a year than the entire 1,000+ population of students.
High school was an enlightening period in my life, as I was exposed to authors I had never heard of. I fell in love with the amiable characters in Jane Austen’s books. George Orwell’s account of a totalitarian government in 1984 mesmerized me and to this day remains one of my favorite books. The Scarlet Letter, in all its brilliancy, was risqué and alluring and managed to captivate me with the sad tale of one woman’s indiscretions and the consequences of those actions. Authors such as Charles Darwin and Richard Dawkins fueled my curiosity about science and the world. In college I was introduced to different philosophers and intellectuals, such as the writings of Dante, Plato, Al Farabi, Thomas Aquinas, and Karl Marx. I fell in love with Dan Brown’s Davinci Code and recognized it as a brilliant work of fiction, despite its controversy in our society.
Some authors I agreed with immensely, while others I did not. Some authors captured my attention and sparked my curiosity. However, all authors had something in common- they made me think. Books are beautiful things. They are the creations of the minds of the individuals that wrote them. Beautiful! The saddest thing is that there have been people throughout history who have tried to take away this beauty from us. Some have been successful while others have been met with fierce resistance. By trying to censor books these people want to take away our imaginations and curiosity, our hopes and dreams, our ability to think for ourselves. What they do not know is that they cannot and will not be successful in censoring our books.
We are a society that has grown and flourished immensely- and why? We have progressed as a nation, as a world, because people with dreams and curiosity and aspirations expressed their ideals. If history has taught us anything it is that you cannot successfully oppress a society. If politicians and the government ever try to censor books, to take away my right to read authors who are solely expressing ideas and creativity, I will not sit still and do nothing. I will join a revolution of individuals. Books are an integral part of my life. If it comes to it, I will not sit quietly.
High school was an enlightening period in my life, as I was exposed to authors I had never heard of. I fell in love with the amiable characters in Jane Austen’s books. George Orwell’s account of a totalitarian government in 1984 mesmerized me and to this day remains one of my favorite books. The Scarlet Letter, in all its brilliancy, was risqué and alluring and managed to captivate me with the sad tale of one woman’s indiscretions and the consequences of those actions. Authors such as Charles Darwin and Richard Dawkins fueled my curiosity about science and the world. In college I was introduced to different philosophers and intellectuals, such as the writings of Dante, Plato, Al Farabi, Thomas Aquinas, and Karl Marx. I fell in love with Dan Brown’s Davinci Code and recognized it as a brilliant work of fiction, despite its controversy in our society.
Some authors I agreed with immensely, while others I did not. Some authors captured my attention and sparked my curiosity. However, all authors had something in common- they made me think. Books are beautiful things. They are the creations of the minds of the individuals that wrote them. Beautiful! The saddest thing is that there have been people throughout history who have tried to take away this beauty from us. Some have been successful while others have been met with fierce resistance. By trying to censor books these people want to take away our imaginations and curiosity, our hopes and dreams, our ability to think for ourselves. What they do not know is that they cannot and will not be successful in censoring our books.
We are a society that has grown and flourished immensely- and why? We have progressed as a nation, as a world, because people with dreams and curiosity and aspirations expressed their ideals. If history has taught us anything it is that you cannot successfully oppress a society. If politicians and the government ever try to censor books, to take away my right to read authors who are solely expressing ideas and creativity, I will not sit still and do nothing. I will join a revolution of individuals. Books are an integral part of my life. If it comes to it, I will not sit quietly.
"For only when free men write and speak truth will the exercise of arbitrary power be exposed and opposed."
I was appalled to find out that Governor Sarah Palin, the Republian Vice Presidential candidate, once accosted a librarian in Wasilla, Alaska and asked her how she would react to a request to censor books. The librarian was aghast and expressed her resistance to any actions concerning censorship. A few months after her encounter with then Mayor Palin, the librarian received a letter from Palin informing her that she was being fired because she did not support the mayor. Censorship was not listed as a reason for her being fired. After a large public outcry, Mayor Palin relented her previous statement and allowed the librarian to retain her job.
This story became news again recently as Governor Palin's life and politics are under close scrutiny from both the public and the media. Governor Palin has claimed that her talk with the librarian was "rhetorical" and meant to help her acquaint herself with her county employees. The librarian felt differently. The question on everyone's mind is did Governor Palin seriously consider censoring books from the Wasilla library? A politician eager to censor books is not someone I would ever want to hold an influential public office such as Governor, or even worse- as Vice President. I am eager for new investigative research to surface either confirming or denying that Governor Palin's intent was to indeed censor books from her local library. Unfortunately, as we quite often see in politics, we will probably never know the complete truth. Governor Palin, if it indeed was your intent to censor books from the Wasilla library you should be ashamed of yourself for trying to suppress an individual's quest for knowledge and right to free speech. If it was not your intent to censor the books and you were only asking a "rhetorical" question as you claim, then I sincerely apologize. However, I'm not holding my breath on the latter (and you shouldn't either)!
No comments:
Post a Comment