What’s To Be Done About Banned Books?

There’s a certain 15-year-old, Amaranthia Sepia Gittens-Jones, who “…attended Pal and Nischimachi International Schools, Tokyo, Japan…”. “By age eight Amaranthia declared her purpose to become an artist. By age 12 she was awarded a full scholarship at Kimball Jenkins Art School, Concord, New Hampshire, USA.”

Image by Christian Ferrari ~ http://christian-ferrari.blogspot.com/

She’s written a guest post on Jessica Bell’s blog, The Artist Unleashed, called Why Books Should Not Be Banned.

Certainly, some folks who think particular books should be banned might stop reading right here, or read further and engage in rant-mode.

And, some people who think no books should be banned may not much care about a young person’s opinion on the subject—possibly reasoning that kids want freedoms just because they’re young…

Let me share some excerpts from Amaranthia’s post:

Talking about the Harry Potter series and quoting another author—“‘Some religious groups feel that these books steer children away from God and the church.’—she goes on to say, “Should books be banned and ostracized for themes that people can enjoy and learn from?”

Then, she immediately expands her position:

“I believe banned books should be shown to children to educate them about censorship and themes that are seen as inappropriate to certain demographics….If these themes are explained to children, it could inform them about the viewpoint of groups who believe in censoring, and grant them an awareness of a story that may benefit them before they read.”

She then brings up Huckleberry Finn…

And, including a quote from a professor at Franklin Pierce University, she says, “If we only study what we agree with,’our world becomes smaller’.”

Amaranthia next shares a quote from the American Library Association:

“A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice.”

One of her closing remarks is:

“Banned books can be used to teach students ethics, the blunders of the past, and the mindset of former generations.”

Powerful ideas from who many folks would classify “just a youngster”…
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Banned Books Week plus Secret Banning . . .

Yesterday began Banned Books Week sponsored by American Booksellers Association; American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression; the American Library Association; American Society of Journalists and Authors; Association of American Publishers; Comic Book Legal Defense Fund; the Freedom to Read Foundation; National Coalition Against Censorship; National Council of Teachers of English; National Association of College Stores; PEN American Center and and Project Censored.  It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.

Back in May I published a post called Book Banning (Open & Secret) and The Politics of Publishing, which, in honor of Banned Books Week, I now repost…

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This blog’s visitor numbers, by country, show the United States taking an oscillating percentage between 50 and 70%.

I’m happy, living in the U.S., that there are that many folks from other countries visiting and hope their number increases…

Still, many people see the U.S. as leading the way in democratic freedoms.

Sad to say, politics and corporate agendas are swiftly eroding true liberty in the U.S. and it becomes particularly painful when I see its action in the publishing industry.

But, publishing houses are corporations and are, in turn, owned by larger corporations…

And, corporations and politicians are the current “masters” of humanity.

My novel treats of this phenomenon but goes further and has the corporations completely absorbing politics—no more parties or candidates, just The Corporation…

Perhaps my book will be banned one day………

Yet, even though freedom to publish is aided by all the initiatives in self-publishing, the political climate is darkening and the pall of population control is widening.

What of the non-fiction world, where authors attempt to uncover plots against freedom and clear the murk of political obfuscation?

It’s becoming somewhat like the novel, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury…

In case you’re of the mind to ignore the dangers from crushing oppression of humanity’s freedom, I dare you to watch this video:

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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)
For Private Comments, Email: amzolt {at} gmail {dot} com
* Google Author Page

Book Banning (Open & Secret) and The Politics of Publishing

This blog’s visitor numbers, by country, show the United States taking an oscillating percentage between 50 and 70%.

I’m happy, living in the U.S., that there are that many folks from other countries visiting and hope their number increases…

Still, many people see the U.S. as leading the way in democratic freedoms.

Sad to say, politics and corporate agendas are swiftly eroding true liberty in the U.S. and it becomes particularly painful when I see its action in the publishing industry.

But, publishing houses are corporations and are, in turn, owned by larger corporations…

And, corporations and politicians are the current “masters” of humanity.

My novel treats of this phenomenon but goes further and has the corporations completely absorbing politics—no more parties or candidates, just The Corporation…

Perhaps my book will be banned one day………

Yet, even though freedom to publish is aided by all the initiatives in self-publishing, the political climate is darkening and the pall of population control is widening.

What of the non-fiction world, where authors attempt to uncover plots against freedom and clear the murk of political obfuscation?

It’s becoming somewhat like the novel, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury…

In case you’re of the mind to ignore the dangers from crushing oppression of humanity’s freedom, I dare you to watch this video:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)
For Private Comments, Email: amzolt {at} gmail {dot} com