In the film 1776, when asked whether he would vote for the motion to discuss “independency,” as it was then called, Rhode Island delegate Stephen Hopkins responds, “I never heard of an idea that was so dangerous that it couldn’t be discussed.” Unfortunately, not everyone shares Hopkins’ ideas of free and frank discussion.
Consider that if Tom Paine’s Common Sense, a scathing indictment of the injustices of “Fat George,” as the King was called, had been banned because it espoused certain ideas. Now, 246 years later the thought police want to prohibit discussion of ideas that would make people “uncomfortable,” as one Midwestern legislator put it. And it’s not just on the right that we have thought police, either.
But these legislators forgot the most important book of all: The Bible is surely a book that makes people uncomfortable. Just look at what’s in it. There are the prophets calling rulers to task for refusing to help the poor; there’s John the Baptist calling his generation a brood of vipers. And, of course, there’s Jesus, calling us to task for our treatment of others. Can’t get more uncomfortable than that.
Prayer for the Day
Afraid of what you call us to do, we are not always ready to hear you,
For you disturb us when we want tranquility, startle us when we want comfort;
You confront us with the violence of our world when we want peace,
And upset us when we want stability, challenge us when we want quiet.
Help us, O God, to find you where we least expect:
In the eyes of the lonely and in the starkness of the winter tree.
We ask this in the name of him who embodies your Spirit,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen
Thoughts for the Day
What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.
- Salman Rushdie, novelist and essayist
I]t's not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.
- Judy Blume, American writer for young adults
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would cry out.”
Luke 19: 39-40