Comments on: A Post That Would Not Be Written

By: Dan Hanosh

Dan Hanosh — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 05:16:00 +0000

Friend I'm kind of sorry I started all this . . . But then, I relate censurship to book burning or banning . . . And in the end it all relates to fear. You know that everytime a country has a Coup, the first things to go are our most cherished resources of thought . . . Books, teachers, leaders, and on down the line. And it's always easy to find reasons for any action . . . Again, I didn't mean to create a problem, I just thought my links deserved a fight . . . Dan H.Dreams are yours to share.Dan HanoshDreams Are Yours To Share

By: Alan

Alan — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:49:00 +0000

I totally agree, Dawn. And I am so thankful to the blog catalogers who helped me see that I can be much more effective in working against it if I am less angry about it. This thread and post have been a huge learning experience for me.

By: One Eighteen

One Eighteen — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:48:00 +0000

Why would anyone ban a book??? If you dont want to read it, CLOSE IT!!!118

By: AntiBarbie

AntiBarbie — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:44:00 +0000

I think censorship is evil. Controlling what people see and hear is just a means of trying to control thought. It is intolerance and bigotry in one of it’s most blatant forms.

By: Alan

Alan — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:31:00 +0000

Dane,That didn’t seem preachy at all to me. It came across as heartfelt and powerful.Marisa,Thanks so much for your input. You’ve really made me think about things I hadn’t considered.Mark,When I first saw your comment what popped into my mind was Gloria Steinem. I realize those are your initals but it’s a very eye-catching handle.JD,I have to say that a lot of times I have been one of those strident types who shrilly buy into the black and white, either/or myth. Your grayscale perception inspires me.My heartfelt thanks to all of you.

By: techfun

techfun — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:06:00 +0000

I often end up feeling that way too when I take the time to really look at an issue. The US news media and political arena is very big on making things huge black and white issues. That makes it much easier for pollsters to provide the data that will shape the next day’s sound bites.There is a huge disconnect in the culture of the United States when it comes to issues like censorship. These are blown up into big fights between “us” and “them”. When you get down to individuals dealing with other individuals compromise comes naturally. As an adult, I have never had an individual try to stop me from reading anything. I have never found a person with whom I couldn’t reach an understanding that would allow us to peacefully agree to disagree.I honestly believe that a lot of the controversy involved community or individual pressure on libraries can be addressed by sitting both sides down to work out a deal. Often the people complaining about books are just looking for some indication that that there opinions are being heard. Compromises can never be reached when both sides are shouting from atop their soapboxes.

By: MS

MS — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 10:16:00 +0000

“This . . . leaves me feeling as though I understand the issue considerably less well than when I began.”Honest learning is often like that. Good post.

By: Marisa

Marisa — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 04:23:00 +0000

That was perfect. And well worth staying awake, waiting for it!

By: Dane Morgan

Dane Morgan — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 04:16:00 +0000

Now that was an eloquent post. Sometimes the most difficult and most important thing to write is that the answers aren’t all that easy or all that cut and dried.And the dichotomy of the enemy who suddenly isn’t as alien as before is an odd thing. I first experienced this feeling with an “actual” enemy while in the Army. I suddenly came to the realization that I had more in common with these men with guns watching me watch them with guns than I did with the 300,000,000 people across an ocean for whom I was pointing the guns.It didn’t mean they were right, or I was wrong (or the other way round), it simply meant they were human, they were afraid, they were certain, and we had common ground.Most often we do have common ground. We just don’t always have an easy time of identifying it. (Most) Republicans don’t really want to starve schoolchildren. (Most) Democrats don’t really want to eliminate capitalism. (Most) often the disagreements aren’t about what we want, but rather how we get there.And (Most) of us really believe that the map we have is best for all is only everyone would open their eyes. And if we’d all just open out hearts and our ears (Most) of us would see that just a little more often.I sure hope it doesn’t sound like I’m preaching here. I’m on the sinners list.