To Ban A Book Again

Another school board removing another heralded book from its curriculum: "To Kill a Mockingbird" will be removed from the Mukilteo WA School District's ninth-grade English/Language Arts required reading list.https://t.co/xBeKP9nGfW via @KING5Seattle

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 28, 2022

In this century alone, To Kill A Mockingbird was NOT banned or challenged in 2001, 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2013-2016. Or only 8 years out of 22. It is on every list of Most Banned Books in America.

My point stands: nobody goes to court to defend this book or the principle that books should be challenged by discussion, not denying access to it. We go to court to challenge teaching creationism (rightly so) or to be sure science and mathematics are taught “properly.”  No one goes to court to defend the principles of the liberal arts. The only reason we notice these bans now is politics. It’s the political point we care about. Defense of the freedom of thought? We don’t even know what the issue is.

We know why we should teach science. We know why we shouldn’t teach pseudoscience. We don’t know why we should teach thought, and we casually accept the teaching of pseudo-thought. We don’t consider banning a book to be a serious act. We only take it seriously when we can use it for another purpose.

Banning the book is never the problem. Banning thought should be the problem, but we don’t see it that way, and because we ignore it we say that ban is not important at all. We don’t support thought either. We only want to use the ban to promote our idea.

Banning a book is a symbolic act, not an effective one. It stops nothing, it accomplishes nothing. It is an announcement, nothing more. But what do we let it announce by our silence, or by our faux outrage? Do we engage a discussion? Or do we respond in kind?

Of course we don’t go to court over banned books because the ban means nothing. It is a useless, petulant act. But we don’t use the opportunity to engage the discussion of ideas, defend the pursuit of thought, champion the examination of ideas. We don’t need to do that in court, or in politics. But we need to do it. We need to promote and defend the liberal arts as fiercely as we defend the sciences. Of course, in this technological age, science is where the money is.

And where our treasure is is where our heart is. Until the heart is nothing but a muscle, and we don’t know even what we’ve lost. It’s one reason we ban the books, and also why we barely notice. The books remind us of what we’ve lost, and we don’t like stirring those ashes.

Remember this isn’t cancel culture. If someone criticizes the mayor that’s cancel culture. https://t.co/rOOryu9Qkp

— LesserHat* (@Popehat) January 29, 2022

It isn’t about the books. It’s all about the politics. That’s the problem.