Book Banning Myths
For the past 25 years, the radically liberal ALA (American Library Association) has engaged in a pseudo "Banned Books Week" campaign to allow an unlimited and unbridled "Freedom to Read" platform using the 1st Amendment.
What makes the ALA campaign so deceiving is that "censorship" or "banning" of books is virtually non-existent in the USA. Truly censored or banned items would be unavailable throughout our nation. Yet the ALA's most frequently challenged in 2006 were readily available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc.
The ALA intentionally uses "censorship" or "book banning" to prevent taxpayers from exercising their constitutional right to critique the selection of tax-funded library materials within the local or school library.
Neighborhood and school librarians make book selection daily to create the library collection. This process is called "selective review."
But should the taxpayers formally object to an item from the selection process, they -- the taxpayers -- become "censors," the item of objection is labeled "banned," and then it is printed on the ALA censorship list of books.
Today the pseudo "book banning" and "censorship" campaign has opened the floodgates to unimagined heinous content and filth never before seen in a public library, let alone on the shelves of our children and young readers.
Many titles on ALA's Most Frequently Challenged Books list are found in schools and even written for school-aged students. These materials were challenged by parents for sexual content, occult/Satanism, drug use, violence, profanity, and more.
When seriously offensive tax-funded books in public schools or libraries are not challenged for profanity or sexual explicitness, etc, we risk the loss of common decency, morality, and standards established in our society.
Consider three examples:And Tango Makes Three -- written for children aged four to eight, based on a true story about two male penguins and their baby Tango. It teaches that homosexual families are natural and good.
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things -- written for 12-15 year olds. The ALA's Booklist describes its protagonist: "She wants a boyfriend, but she settles for Froggy Welsh, who comes over on Mondays to grope her." Around its sexual theme, this book discusses family dysfunction, self-mutilation, female masturbation, and date rape.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower -- chronicles the maturation of Charlie, who was sexually abused as a child. He smokes pot to gain friends. He drops acid. According to Insight Magazine, the book includes boy-dog sex, man-boy sex, anal sex between boys, male masturbation, and female masturbation. According to ALA, the "positive message" of Banned Books Week is that "most challenges are unsuccessful and are retained in the school curriculum or library collection."
But what the ALA really means by pushing their annual "Banned Book Week" is that librarians will put on the shelf what they want, despite the outcry from taxpayers who attempt to stop this downhill scurrilous library selection process.
Book Banning Myths
1) Book banning in the library is a myth and not at the door of school or public libraries. Banning begins at the door of the publishers. Publishers decide what will be printed and circulated on their publishers' book lists. Librarians simply buy what they want from the list. Since no library is exactly the same as another, all that occurs in any library is the choice in selection. Hence, censorship is a myth as the issue at hand is book selection and not banning.
2) When taxpayers' money is spent for library books/materials, taxpayers expect the best to be bought; they do not expect money to be spent on filth and porn-laden reading material. Common decency demands such, as it is innate to all human beings.
3) Despite what is claimed, libraries do stand in "loco parentis" as do all other public entities serving children. We certainly expect the local park to take care of children and watch out for them. To do otherwise is to neglect their duty to the taxpaying citizen. Staff is on hand to protect children from injury and assault and not just let them play.
3) The public library has the same responsibility to protect children from the assault -- only in this case, it is the assault of their mind as with porn-laden books like the "The Chocolate War" or "Fat Kid Rules the World." The library has an obligation to "Do No Harm" to young minds and emotions as they move around the library, using their card as the right of passage to do so.
4) The issue in school libraries is not about Parental rights. This pits one parent against another. The issue on hand is rather this important question: Is it right to sexualize children 12-13-14 years of age or younger and have taxpayer dollars subsidizing it?
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