Banned Books Week

Well last week I had the pleasure of going grouse hunting in the forests of Northern Minnesota with my brother which was an ideal way to catch up on each other's lives without the distraction of family, children, work, and even Internet/radio/TV since our cabin did not have any such modern features. Due to this lack of Internet access I have not blogged about anything for one week.

Our hunting trip fell on the exact same week of "Banned Books Week" ("BBW" -- http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.htm) which I blog about annually so today's posting will focus on this important event. This year's BBW was held from September 29 to October 6 under the patronage of the American Library Association (ALA). For those of you keeping track at home the "most challenged book for 2006" according to the ALA in terms of people trying to ban a certain book from library shelves, classrooms, etc was --

Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell’s award-winning "And Tango Makes Three," about two male penguins parenting an egg from a mixed-sex penguin couple, tops the list of most challenged books in 2006 by parents and administrators, due to the issues of homosexuality.

So what better way to celebrate the most basic of individual rights -- reading a book of our choosing -- than to end a day of hunting by sitting around in the cabin reading books? We did have the opportunity to drive to the nearest large city whose library was hosting a reading of banned books but we opted to relax at the cabin with our books.

Enjoy life via simple pleasures,

Todd

Mark Twain

The school district of Lakeville, Minnesota ( http://www.isd194.k12.mn.us/) is currently "re-evaluating" the use of Mark Twain's famous book which is required reading for their students, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", due to complaints from parents in the district who are concerned with racism and the use of the "N-word" which appears 200 times in the book.

Has anyone ever seen a Richard Pryor comedy routine? I have to guess he used the "N-word" at LEAST 200 times in one of his acts so it makes me wonder if any of these concerned parents have watched Mr. Pryor's act. Either way this potential book banning in Lakeville was discussed in my local newspaper today -- very timely since it is Black History Month in the USA.

As readers of my flagship blog (http://spacebeaglenotes.blogspot.com) know I combat racism when I can so everyone should know I would never defend the racist themes in Huck Finn but as an aspiring historian let me state the obvious for the concerned parents in Lakeville -- "Huck Finn" is historical fiction, it used the language of the time it was written in so banning this book from students' eyes is a dis-service akin to Joseph Stalin's editing of photographs in the Soviet Union that eliminated people he had ordered killed thereby altering history. Students should read this book with some historical context and an understanding of the civil rights movement in the USA not as some guidebook for "keeping the black man down.................." Such a book could be used as an instructional tool - or at least as entertaining literature -- not as a trophy for the book burning community.

Think globally, read locally,

Todd