banned books

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You Cannot Read This


I recently saw a list of books that are banned in at least one state if not many. Among them are D. H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterly’s Lover, The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Anjelou, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the list goes on!

I read several of these books while in high school and I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would want to ban them. They are classics for a reason. Each is very well written and by authors whose legacy of being among the great American Authors will remain unblemished.

Florida’s governor, Ron DiSantis leads the way of deciding who can read what. And he is not alone but simply stands out more than most. God forbid in the state of Florida that a student might want to read The 1619 Project. What happens to that person if they do, that high school student? Are they expelled? Are they punished? Or are they simply inquisitive about the world around them and how we got here. Should that student follow up with The Grapes of Wrath and then Tortilla Flats, is that student on his road to perdition?

Conservative American politians claim they are here to fight to the end to preserve a person’s 1st Amendment rights, but does that right not include the liberty to read what he or she likes? I guess they think pouring all their efforts into making sure everyone in America has a ton of guns and not worrying about preserving a person’s right to choose.

Oh! There is that phrase! “A right to choose.” Hmmm, sounds like something a pro-choice person would say. But is not pro-choice also inclusive of the right to choose what any one person desires to read? Let’s see, they won’t ban Hustler Magazine, but they will ban To Kill a Mockingbird! The foolishness of this should be apparent to all Americans.

And one last thought, Texas is the only state in the union that sets a long-standing standard as to what material is included in high school history books. God help us because what is next?

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Governor Ron DeSantis: Officially a Fascist


I am appalled by Florida’s new law regarding books in public (K-12) schools. Such a law harkens back to pre-1930 U.S. education when religious oranizations decided what children and adults should read. But even worse, it sounds like 1938 Germany when there were massive book burnings when the government decided what the public could or could not read. That was fascism in action. Please understand that my understanding of such methods and doctrines comes from the fact that I studied U.S. history at Harvard University where I got my master’s degree in that subject. But such history studies depend upon the student’s ability to have an understanding of the world around the United States during its history.

This also reminds me of George Orwell’s 1984 where the government of the United States had become intrusive to the extreme in every person’s daily life.

DeSantis has ordered that “media specialists,” who were once known in public schools as “librarians,” review every book in the school to determine whether there is any objectionable material contained. Objectionable material such as a book a 6th grader was reading in which two boys loved each other. His reaction was one of acceptance which is exactly what we should want of our children in today’s society. So much of the hatred that exists in our country today comes from one group of people deciding that another group are something beneath them.

Florida has also outlawed all A.P. black history classes. This too is what the Nazi’s did when their crusade against Jews, Gypsies, gays, and all groups defined as “undesirables” was put into action. Is this what we are seeing in Florida? It certainly seems so. The Nazis decided that all things connected with these groups must be deleted from the public’s view and they made that happen. This sounds too much like what is happening in Florida!

And while it would be, most likely, a bad decision to put Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence on a K-8 reading list, would it be improper to allow high schoolers to read the books? Shall we then include Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beacher Stowe on such a list because its central characters are black? Or how about the high school senior who decides to do a book report on the biography of Margaret Sanger because she dealt with birth control in the early 20th Century? I can go on and on but I think I have made my point.

I did notice that the books of Raold Dahl were removed from the school library’s shelves that they may be checked for inappropriate material! Are you kidding me! You would have to be extremely ignorant to think that anything said in those books could be offensive for even the youngest grade schooler. And yet, a media specialist my review them.

And who is behind these moves, DeSantis himself? I doubt it. It is my guess, and my opinion, that if you look hard enough you will find that conservative evangelicals are the tail which is wagging the dog here. DeSantis needs this very conservative base to stay in office because Florida is not a deep red state but one which has a large strong liberal party as well.

It may seem odd to compare what is happening to Florida to the Supreme Court’s decision of what pornography is and who can watch it but the parallels are hard to ignore. In each case, a decision on the First Amendment comes into view. I do hope that there is some group in Florida that has taken the torch to fight this law in the Supreme Court on the basis of the First Amendment.

Those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it. That is a paraphrase but a most appropriate one. In 1925, the Scopes Trial in Tennesse brough a high school teacher to task for daring to teach evolution to his students. This did not sit well with conservative church leaders and their followers. At that time too, Tennessee had passed a law known as the “Butler Act” which barred the teaching of evolution. Behind the trail were fundamentalist Christians. Clarence Darrow, who was the attorney for the defense, eventually lost the case but it brought into the public’s mind what was acceptable to be taught in public schools and the controversy quickly spread across the country.

Must we have another “Scopes'” style trial to deal with this? Are Floridians’ so numb to the political machinations of the Florida State government that they oppose nothing it brings into law? Where is the outrage? Where is good judgement? Certainly not in Florida! Florida has already barred the teaching of black history so what is next? Seminole history?

It is difficult for Americans who have been allowed only a narrow view of history to make good and well-informed decisions. Yes, Ron DeSantis calls himself a Republican but in truth, he is actually a Fascist.!