January 29, 2009

• WCFQ 33c: It’s a sick world, in’t it.

  In places all over the world,
  books are being banned by people
  saying that the books are bad
  in one way or another.
  What gives them the right to tell you
  what is good or bad for you?
  Are they just locking up knowledge?
  What do you think about censorship
  of literary works?
  i_heart_concussions
  
  

  First of all, let me say I’m a Pagan and a bibliophile. In my extensive book collection, I have many religious texts… the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible, The Qur’an, Popul Vuh, The Hermetica, and many others. I have books of religious philosophy and ethics. I have books of divination, magic, conjuring, and even necromancy. I have books of history, mythology, and mysticism. I have books that contradict each other and ideas that are banned by one or another group sharing the same shelves.

  To my mind, there is no justification for the banning of any book. You can choose not to read something, and that is entirely on you, but no one can tell you not to read it. They don’t have the right. The problem with book banning is that 1) it assumes that if the ideas in the book get out, people will adopt them as a truth to live by, and 2) it makes people more interested in them.

  As an example, people have not managed to banish erotica yet, and I don’t see everyone living a completely immoral lifestyle. Some people refer to Romance novels as softcore porn. Does that mean millions of unsatisfied housewives have S&M dungeons in their basements? Unlikely. But if erotica and romance was banned…. well, that’s not the kind of speculation I usually do. I don’t read erotica or romance novels, nor would I even if they were banned. They’re not a subject that interests me despite how well they sell to other demographics.

  People who talk of banning books assume that other people have no self control. That what they read, they will eventually practice. I’ve had books on necromancy for years, but I’ve never once unearthed a rotting corpse for fun and profit. (Yes, necromancy is quite profitable from an information standpoint and actually safer than summoning demons.) Actually, the next time you pull out the Ouija board, you are performing a kind of necromancy. Now you know. Shame on you. Don’t let the Pope find out. I think it’s still against papal law.

  The people who want to ban books are the same people who say tv and video game violence causes people to commit violent crimes. People who want to ban books and violence in media should be watched. It’s a proven fact that the more you harp on a subject, the more interest you have in it. People who criticize others are often targeting a flaw they have themselves. So basically, people who want various books to be banned are afraid of their own lack of self control. They are afraid that other people are just as low down and dirty on the inside as they know themselves to be.

  Kind of scary, isn’t it? Now you know… it’s not the creepy neighbor who comes out into the light of day only to retrieve mysterious packages in the plain brown wrappers you have to look out for (probably the latest violent video game… I know what you were thinking, pervert); it’s the “normal” neighbor across the way who goes walking down the street every Sunday, shouting scripture and waking everyone up at 7 in the morning (this used to happen when I lived in the city). Because it’s the Bible thumper who’d be quick to pick up a stone for the weekly stoning of the heretics if Bible law was given precedence over secular law.

  History is written by the winners, no religion has the direct pipeline to the truth, and fiction is entertainment at best and cathartic at worst (or should that be the other way around?). Banning books is truly the most unproductive plan of attack. Once it’s published, someone will gain access to it and it will spread, especially if it’s banned. If people were really serious about the “ill” that books they disagree with caused, they’d be out there trying to write their own books to counter the spread of such “immoral” ideas. But that would require way too much work. In the end, people only want to ban books because they are afraid that others will do what they only daydream about doing.

  The best rebuttal I have for people who want to ban books has been expressed in bumpersticker form, and I quote:

  
  

  Evolve, Dammit!

  
  
  

  ---

  
  

  January 29th
  No entries for today.
  
  

  ---

  • 7:18 pm
  • 5 Comments