© "Harry Potter" Book Burning. Alamogordo, New Mexico. 2001 “The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." — Albert Einstein
We’ve all heard this, so why do “they” keep trying to ban books. Stop asking the school to police your child. If you have a problem with what your child is reading, then you deal with it. Don’t force others to your narrow minded way of thinking. Boy, if you think Pat Conroy and J.K. Rowling are responsible for the decline of western civilization then you are so wrong.
The decline started with the over indulgent Baby Boomers and "Me" generationers who have systematically screwed their kids up so badly that companies are having to hire special psychologists to teach them how to deal with their twenty-somethings. You know, the generation where every kid made the team and got a trophy. The ones who had to be bribed in order to do anything constructive, these kids are entering the workforce and have no idea how to take criticism. They don’t know how to be a good or bad loser because they didn’t keep score on there soccer teams that they signed up for instead of having to try out. They’ve never had to fight their own battles because mommy or daddy always “took care of it”.
Why don't we try to raise a generation of free thinkers if they will get off the couch and put down the Playstation long enough to exert the effort. It didn't work for Hitler and it won’t work for the good people in W. VA and it won’t work for the B.Y.O.S. (bring your own snake) church that my aunt attends (see comments to Country's 11/13 blog).
We’ve all heard this, so why do “they” keep trying to ban books. Stop asking the school to police your child. If you have a problem with what your child is reading, then you deal with it. Don’t force others to your narrow minded way of thinking. Boy, if you think Pat Conroy and J.K. Rowling are responsible for the decline of western civilization then you are so wrong.
The decline started with the over indulgent Baby Boomers and "Me" generationers who have systematically screwed their kids up so badly that companies are having to hire special psychologists to teach them how to deal with their twenty-somethings. You know, the generation where every kid made the team and got a trophy. The ones who had to be bribed in order to do anything constructive, these kids are entering the workforce and have no idea how to take criticism. They don’t know how to be a good or bad loser because they didn’t keep score on there soccer teams that they signed up for instead of having to try out. They’ve never had to fight their own battles because mommy or daddy always “took care of it”.
Why don't we try to raise a generation of free thinkers if they will get off the couch and put down the Playstation long enough to exert the effort. It didn't work for Hitler and it won’t work for the good people in W. VA and it won’t work for the B.Y.O.S. (bring your own snake) church that my aunt attends (see comments to Country's 11/13 blog).
We need to apply a little reverse psychology on our children. You don’t want them to read a book, tell them they must read it! Or as Mr. Conroy so eloquently put it, “Because you banned my books, every kid in that county will read them, every single one of them. Because book banners are invariably idiots, they don’t know how the world works — but writers and English teachers do.”
Amen brother!
Comments
To a point, you don't protect them so much as you teach them to handle reality. It's out there. Deal with it.
i just call them groupies and let em come on!
Anyway, I also think that book banning is a totally idiotic thing to do. You immediately draw attention to the thing you're trying to get rid of. Who hasn't wanted know what was so bad about Lady Chatterly's Lover? The other problem these people aren't thinking about is the fact that, as long as you pay for the book, the book belongs to you. Ostensibly, the author couldn't give a flying Rat Patootie (see how I slid that product reference for Ratatouille in there?) what you do with it as long as you pay for it. They're still making money and the publisher can still print more. You're doing nothing more that burning money.
Cut out the middle man, make a big pile of cash and burn that. You can always tell the news stations why you're doing that when they come to interview you, because they will. A bunch of people burning cash?! I'd interview you!