For those of you who know me well will not be surprised to learn that Sunday night is my night to catch up on all those articles I pull out of the papers during the week -- and sometimes from the week before.
Last night a particular article caught my attention, the one about the 850 books that the scion of intelligence Texas State Rep Matt Krause emailed to school libraries as against the new law against books that might make students ’feel discomfort, guilt, anguish” because of race or sex, whatever that means. Does this mean that he actually read 850 books?
I note that he forgot to include the Bible. To be sure, the Bible is a book that will make anyone feel discomfort, guilt, or anguish because of race or sex. We could start with the Genesis story of Adam and Eve being thrown out of the Garden. But, wait! There’s more. In fact, there isn’t a book in the Bible that doesn’t address the prohibited issues.
Prayer for the Day
Bewildered, we come to you for guidance, O God
For we see such willful ignorance in the world;
Afflicted by the fear of knowledge and understanding,
We pray for enlightened minds to guide us.
Save us from our false pride that admits no wrong,
And teach us humility and renewed commitments.
In the name of him who opens minds and hearts,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen
Thoughts for the Day
…that [people] ban books is, in a way, a good sign. It's a good sign because it means books have power. When people burn books, it's because they're afraid of what's inside them...
- Marcus Sedgwick, writer from The Monsters We Deserve
A word to the unwise. Torch every book. Char every page. Burn every word to ash. Ideas are incombustible. And therein lies your real fear.
- Ellen Hopkins, American writer and poet