"From your parents you learn love and laughter and how to put one foot in front of the other. But when books are opened you discover you have wings". - Helen Hayes
Another Banned Books Week breezed through East Texas at the end of September with nary a mention in the media, no library displays, and, I would feel confident guessing, no mention in our schools.
The American Library Association describes the annual observation as a "celebration of the right to read." This is not something to be taken for granted.
One of the first acts of a totalitarian regime is to censor the written word, not only the press, but also fiction and non-fiction books. It happened in Hitler's Germany, in Stalin's USSR, and more recently in Iraq and Iran, to name just a few. Go to the children's section of a library or bookstore and read "The Librarian of Basra." Based on fact but written several years ago, it's the story of a brave librarian who sets out to save the books from the state censors. I have tried to find a follow-up on what happened to those books, but without success.
It's understandable for a parent to show interest in what his or her child reads. There are those parents and church groups, however, who want to control what others children read. According to statistics collected by the ALA, it's uncommon that a protest actually results in the permanent ban of a book, but defending the right to read can be time-consuming and sometimes costly to school districts and libraries.
Two common complaints about challenged books are "sexual content" and "the occult." I wonder whether these complainants watch their children's television viewing as closely they check their school book lists.
Every night during prime time, I see commercials that have more sexual content than John Berendt's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." That was one of hundreds of titles in the accelerated-reading program of a high school in North Dakota. So why not just guide your child to choose another book?
"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian" by Sherman Alexie is the story of a boy growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Apparently the boy and his friends talk about subjects that boys tend to talk about. Judy Blume, who escaped this year's list, is frequently criticized for letting the pre-teens in her stories talk like pre-teens. So tell your children you don't want them reading these books. Don't try to tell my grandchildren and great-grandchildren what they may or may not read.
My family contains many generations of avid bookworms, including several "accelerated" readers. We even have a couple of generations who read the entire Harry Potter series — and not a serial killer among them.
The popular observance of Banned Books Week is to read a banned book. I'm happy to report that at least one area book club did just that. Thank you.
Mark your calendar for Sept. 25 to Oct. 2, Banned Books Week 2010. A man who knew firsthand about censorship, Oscar Wilde, wrote "The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame."
Lois Oller Nasados writes a monthly column for the Saturday Forum. She lives and writes in Big Sandy. E-mail address: mscurmudgeon@peoplepc.com.
