Missouri and Florida, states after my intellectual freedom heart

Wow. Missouri is quickly becoming my favorite state to write about. Once again, MO is in the news for challenging books in the school system because god forbid our little snowflakes actually learn something interesting. Apparently an assistant professor at Missouri State...yes, an actual (alleged) learned person, has a few problems with the curriculum in the Republic School district. A school district that his children don't go to. Well, his oldest did, but he decided to home school his other children. Anyway, he has a few things he wants changed in the school. Like the history class. He has a problem with the American government being taught as a democracy when clearly it is a democratic republic. I mean, come on. He also has issue with "Separation of church and state, and freedom of expression,Viewing of R-rated movies in English class, such as "Saving Private Ryan" and "The Breakfast Club",Science and evolution,Sex Education classes include information about condom usage, and other 'immoral' topics" Ok, you got me on the Breakfast Club...I don't really see the educational merit of that movie, but Saving Private Ryan? It is a realistic depiction of an important point in history. Maybe this guy is one of those people that denies the holocaust (I am just making generalizations now, he probably is not one of those people).
Here's another doosey. This lady in Florida is on a crusade to ban Catcher in the Rye. I know, I know, not the first time this book has been challenged. This lady's son, who is in 11th grade, brought home the book and both he and his mother were quite offended. She requested her son read a different book, and the school complied. The book that he is reading instead? The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. If you know anything about banned and challenged books then this is quite funny. Here is a link to an article about the Florida woman and her problem with Catcher and her apparent no problem with Huckleberry Finn.

Where I eventually address a city...

Ah, it's fall. The air is getting crisper, the leaves are starting to twitch in the cool breeze; Halloween candy is being pushed to the early buyers and eaters; Christmas decorations are starting to find their way onto shelves; the crazies start to come out...

Wait, what was that last bit? Yeah, about the crazies? Are you talking about this guy?

Yes, Terry Jones...no,
not that Terry Jones, the other, crazier one...yeah, the pastor.

You with me? Good.

Before I continue, you may want to visit my disclosure page once again. I'll wait...

Pastor Terry Jones decided (then undecided when the rest of the world was against him) that on September 11th, he, along with his church, were going to burn the Koran, the holy book of the Muslim people. Think about that for a second.

Now, with September 11th behind us and banned books week in front of us, let us think about this situation.

On one hand, we live in a country where, yes, you can burn the Koran, the Bible, the Torah, the J. Crew catalog if you so wish. Will people be your best friends for it? Probably not. Will you be arrested...well, it really depends on what's going on at the time. Do you have the right as a red blooded American to do and say what you please and worship however you please? Yes.

However, you see, there is this thing called common sense. I don't know if everyone has heard about it, but common sense is this little thing in your brain that when presented with a situation like burning the Koran on September 11th, it tells you not to. It's basically the little voice in your head that tells you to not be a jerk.
There is that pesky other hand. We have the freedom to read. We also have the freedom to not read. We bibliophiles will not force you to read anything you don't want to. There is no "reading agenda". If you don't want to read it, then don't. Along the same line, if you don't want to believe in it, don't. I know September 11th is a horrible, horrible wound that will probably never heal in America. However, let's not let the wound fester. Let's keep it clean and let it remind us how strong we are. How we will not let fear rule over us and how we will continue to do what we want and say what we want and believe what we want because it is the right thing to do. Stephen Abrams had a wonderful blog post about this situation. He said: "So, in my burgeoning discomfort and anger at the foolishness of those who disrespect and endanger all of our freedoms, (and those who serve to protect them), by perverting them to their own interests for publicity, false catharthis, or whatever twisted motivation, I am fearful that we risk losing our freedoms. The forces for book burning do have a right to their views and actions and good and decent people have a right to object to their views and actions.

I have a simple suggestion for those who want to take personal action.

Sometime on Saturday September 11th, 2010 please try this simple task:

Read a passage of the Qur’an/Koran to yourself – quietly. Reading is more than an activity. It builds insight and understanding. Read other holy passages of your choice of other faiths – quietly. Light a candle. Let the light of that candle defeat the darkness of some souls. Besides, I love irony and the misguided actions of the few can be overwhelmed by the quiet and respectful actions of the many."

I have a feeling that pastor Jones came out nine years later with this demonstration in light of the mosque controversy in the vicinity of ground zero. You know what? I don't see any problem with that mosque. Hell, even Salmon Rushdie, who has a fatwah on him, says the mosque should be built.

It's also funny, New York, (yes, I am now addressing a city) that you would have a problem with the mosque when, as a country, a radical Islamic group called Revolution Muslim, is allowed to celebrate 9/11 and call out threats to the creators of South Park and Comedy Central if a certain South Park Episode was not censored. Guess who won that fight? Us? Think again. The South Park episode was censored, so much that the mere mention of Muhammad was bleeped out. You can watch the full story of that here. USA! USA! USA!
So, America, you need to get your sh*t straight, because I, too, am afraid for our rights. Need I remind you of China?
So go forth, America. Read the Koran, the Torah, the J. Crew catalog. You don't have to just do it on the anniversary of September 11th. Just read and know that you have the freedom to read and think freely.

7-0, and I'm not talking about the Saints game

7-0. That was the vote to ban a book from a school's curriculum. A book teachers were hoping to use to get teenage boys (a particularly hard demographic) to read. The score to permanently ban the book from the high school library, even with restrictions? 7-2. What book is it you ask? "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie.

Why, oh why, was is challenged and ultimately banned you say? Why are any books challenged? It depicted reality. It had profanity and discussed masturbation. When the very valid point of "well, uh, it is high school, and, uh, you know kids know about this kind of stuff" was brought up, it was outright rejected with the fingers in the ears and singing loudly. Okay, the last bit didn't happen, but it was outright rejected. It was also said that the reading level of the book is low for high schoolers. I will go ahead and disagree with that. I think the reading level is just fine for high schoolers (particularly ones in this neighborhood from the sound of things)and will not "dumb down the educational standards" of the students reading it. Once again the statement was made that the book did not meet the values of the community. Oh, thank heaven those seven people were there to save me from making a decision myself. You know, I don't know what I would have done if that vote hadn't gone through. Oh, yeah, I would have done what everyone else in the town did: go to amazon.com and order the book to see what everyone is so up in arms about. We have the freedom to read and the freedom to choose. Even high school students have that freedom. If you don't like it, close the damn book.
Once again, please visit my disclaimer page...banned books week is coming up (September 25 - October 3) and it may get kind of hot in here.