When thinking of banned and contested books, it’s easy to conjure up images of the repression that existed in America during the 1950s. Sure, we’ve all heard of the book burning parties, and we all know that Diary of Anne Frank and Of Mice and Men
were banned back in the day.
But the repression hasn’t ended.
The assault on knowledge and ideas and discussion and diversity marches on. In 21st Century America book burning parties continue, as do attempts at banning books in libraries.
Here is a partial list of the banned and contested books from just this past year.
The irony of book banning is that it’s one of the best ways to get someone to read a book they otherwise might not consider. Read a banned book this week. Check with your local library for more information.
What is your favorite banned book?
I think mine has to be The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. It’s more relevant today than it was when it was written.
Sometimes our memories of events become skewed. They get all tangled up in the emotions we were feeling at the time, and the actual facts, the actual words, get lost in the chaos as our brain set’s the memory and files it away for future reference. Someday in the future you may ask me what all this hullabaloo was about. I want to take a moment and set down the details surrounding what really should not be an earth-shattering ground breaking moment. President Barack Obama’s address to school children today.
This is not a new thing. Presidents have been addressing school children for years, as have nearly all the other branches of government. Senators, Local and State Representatives, Governors, Judges, and Mayors representing both the Democrats and the Republicans all spoke to me and my peers at school. President Reagan gave a presentation that was aired to me while I was at school. No advance notice was given. There was definitely no advance text provided of the actual words that were going to be said. No permission slips sent home for my parents to sign. No public outcry.
So what makes this time different?
At first the outcry was because President Obama was speaking to school children directly, while they were at school. But then people were reminded that many Presidents have done so, as have politicians in other offices.
Then the outcry was because one of the lesson plan suggestions was to have the students write a letter to President Obama, which was later changed to have the students write a letter to themselves. But President George H. W. Bush also asked students to write a letter to him.
Then the outcry was because of the very existence of the optional teaching aids that were provided for teachers to use, if they so choose, to help the students interact with what the President has to say. But lesson plan ideas are packaged with everything these days. Toys I buy for you have papers included with ideas of how I can use the toy to teach a lesson, the Baby Einstein DVDs include ideas for ways parents to interact with baby and the show, even many of the novels I read have 20 page inserts in the back with discussion points for book groups. And the suggestions are the types of things students learn in class anyways. There is nothing wrong with students learning about past and present Presidents. In fact, it’s standard teaching material. The optional lesson plan ideas may be a new element of the traditional Presidential address to students, but they are everywhere right now. This is the wave of the future, and you will see more movies and toys packaged with optional teaching aids over time. The teaching aids are optional, not a requirement. And, most importantly, the teacher, not the President, determines whether the classroom discussion turns political. Don’t forget that half the teachers in this country are Republicans.
The outrage continues on all of the above topics even though they have been addressed. As you can see, and you will experience throughout your life, outrage rarely responds to logic. It is an unfortunate fact, and I honestly don’t have any good advice for you on how to get around that. Just reply with logic, and understand that it may have no affect whatsoever. Just try not to let people bring you down to their level. That does not help anything, and often it makes things worse. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience. Take the high road, even if the people around you are lying.
I have a great deal of faith in you, and a great deal of respect for your intelligence. I would not insult you by assuming that you could be brainwashed by a speech from the President, whether I agreed with the President’s administration or not. I adamantly opposed the actions of President George W. Bush, but were he to speak at your school, I would expect you to respectfully listen and consider what he has to say. That does not mean that you have to agree with him. I am sure that this tradition of Presidential addresses to students will continue, despite the uproar this time, and I expect you to be respectful of the position of the President. You will not get a hall pass from me just because I don’t like the President.
This is a lesson for you. Not the lesson President Obama was trying to get across, this lesson is from me. You will repeatedly find yourself in positions throughout your life where you are surrounded by accusations, hateful words, lies, and the energy flying back and forth between both sides of the issue is heated. It is very difficult to figure out what is going on, why people are angry, why people think lying will make their point more valid. And it is especially difficult to figure out where you stand on the issue, and make sure you are standing on facts.
I want you to read the text of the speech included below, as well as the optional ideas for classroom activities that were provided to teachers I have included below.
When you get older, I will expect you to apply critical thinking skills. Are there rival ideas that are valid? What are the issues and the conclusions? What are the reasons that are being provided? Are there any parts that are ambiguous? Are there any errors in reasoning? Is there any important, relevant information that has been left out? Look at the words that are used, look at the examples cited. What is the message that President Obama is trying to get across? Do you agree with that message? Do you disagree? It’s OK to disagree. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. What are the political elements of the speech? What are the political elements of he teachers’ tool? Are there any sentences or phrase with which you take issue? Are there any that stand out that you agree with? What about the ideas that were provided to the teachers? What is the purpose of those ideas? What do they teach? If a teacher uses one of these lesson ideas, is President Obama controlling the conversation in the classroom, or is the teacher?
Could you have critically analyzed the President’s address, and the accompanying ideas for teachers, without first reading them? Is it fair to judge an idea or proposal based on who proposed it without actually reading it? Is it fair to say President Obama is trying to brainwash student’s with this speech and the optional materials for teachers? If so, what is he trying to brainwash student’s to believe or do?
The Boston Tea Party was a protest staged in 1773 against the British Government. The colonists were protesting taxation without representation.
In 2008 elections in the United States, the voter demographics more closely represented the demographics of the United States citizenship than any election in US history.
Today large groups of people across the country are staging “tea party” (remember taxation without representation) protests against a government that is more representative of the population than any in this country’s history.
Adding spice to the irony – the term “teabagging” that the protesters are using to describe their own actions is a euphemism for a sexual act.
After 146 years, Seattle’s oldest newspaper the Seattle Post-Intelligencer shut down print production today. It’s a sad day for Seattle. The last edition of the PI hit newstands early this morning, and by noon it was impossible to find a copy around the Seattle area, although you can get one for $50 on eBay. Vultures.
The fourth estate is critical to American liberty, just as a free press is critical to freedom in any country. And the more perspectives, the more voices, the better off we are.
It’s true that the PI will continue with an online version of the paper, but with less than 20% of the reporters and most of the content simply linking to other papers. This is not maintaining the voice of the PI, this is saying, “here’s something some other news agency reported.“
The moment Barack Obama officially became the President of the United States, the Presidential website, WhiteHouse.gov, switched over to President Obama’s website. The new website is built on a much more stable and transparent architecture, and this switch heralds another of many significant changes in the American Presidency: we now have a President that comprehends and values the Age of Information in which we are currently living.
Whether you love him or fear him, I encourage all of you to spend some time exploring the new WhiteHouse.gov website in addition to subscribing to and reading his blog. To those who are still afraid of President Obama because, as they say, “I don’t know anything about him” (or you, or the people you allow to influence you are making assumptions about him), let me recommend a couple of books penned by the President himself: The Audacity of Hope and Dreams from My Father. You have the opportunity to get your information from the source, rather than the pundits. Please take advantage of that opportunity.
I am so excited about this new era of hope and information and transparency and integrity.
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