Dissention: Does it Get Posted?

Within hours of my first Banned Books Week blog going live, a pending comment awaited me. The writer wanted me to post a particular link to "balance" my coverage of the event.

And I had to decide: post the comment or not?

A few years ago, I received a comment on a similar blog entry, which I thought only fair to post.

This year I received a comment from the same person, only this time he was more terse and provided the same URL. This time, this blogger informed me that someone more prestigious than I had a different opinion I needed to share.

In turn, I was less conciliatory, less accommodating. I also was a little less patient. This wasn't a conversation, an exchange of ideas, a respectful disagreement, like we had before. This was me being corrected.

I could be open-minded, generous, supportive. I could take my time and energy to engage in this conversation. But did I want to? Would it benefit me?

Good questions. This was the same person, same argument, same blog. We agreed to disagree once. I don't need to do it every year. I was not going to change my mind. I already rejected his argument, and I wasn't going to spend my time and space helping him make his point.

I deleted the comment.

Would I do that with another comment? Doubtful; in the years I've been blogging, it's my first deletion. Like I said, I like a good conversation — and this was anything but.

Also, I'm not encouraging a debate, either: having an uncensored debate with someone who favors censorship is too ironic, even for me. I'll read their writing, they'll read mine, we'll agree to disagree and maybe one of us will learn something important (and it most likely will be me). I'm just not looking to be rudely corrected.

Banned Book Week Begins Today: Are You Ready?

Are you ready to read some banned books?

For some of us, this isn't a stretch — like Whoopi Goldberg, we read plenty of books that have been banned or challenged, like poems by Shel Silverstein. (Watch the video below.)

For others, it is novel: why read something you're not supposed to read? Someone decided it's not right to do, read a particular book — so why read it?

My question is: why let someone else decide what you're going to read?

Yes, we do it all the time. We pay attention to awards and bestseller lists, bookseller picks, our friends. But we have choices. When someone pulls a book off the library shelf, it removes our choice based on their criteria.

Libraries do not have all books on the planet (and they have fewer every day — so make sure your state and municipality support and fund public libraries!). Someone has to decide what makes it on the shelves, so why not manipulate the criteria? If I don't "believe" in evolution, or magic, or pre-marital sex, or using profanity, can't I help the library by telling them what books contain that which I find objectionable? Because libraries are for the community as a whole, and what is considered "unacceptable to the community" should be carefully and cautiously defined.

Libraries are not the only place to find books. Sure, maybe I could go buy it — but why? Why must I purchase books because someone else has decided I mustn't read them via the public library I help fund?

I am fortunate: only once did my folks suggest I not read a book. I was not even in high school and my mom thought I might want to wait until I was older to read about the Mason "family" murders. Other than that, I decided. And I want to continue deciding for myself, and making sure that the public can decide for itself.

So do what Whoopi Goldberg and I do: read banned books.  You can get a list at the bottom of this Web page, or ask your librarian.

By the way, if you are like me, you'll be amazed at what you've already read that's been challenged.

Read openly, read whatever you want, read freely. Read.

Read-Out: Banned Books Week Begins September 30

What if you had no choice in what you could read?

There are plenty of people who think they know better than you what you should be able to find at the public or school library. The American Library Association supports the freedom to read by illustrating the danger of limitations on this freedom from Banned Books Week.

This year, Banned Books Week is September 30 to October 6.

Celebrate Banned Books Week by reading a banned or challenged book. You can find the top 100 banned or challenged classics of the 20th century here.

Consider participating in a read-out, either in person or virtually.  Read a banned book out loud and share it, as encouraged by Bookmans:

...or on your own YouTube video channel. Find out more here.

Reading out loud, in public, on camera — they're all just ways to make sure you read what you want, when you want, and how you want.

Don't let others make that decision for you. Support the freedom to read.