Which Books Did Palin Want to Ban?
Of all that has been revealed about Governor Palin since she became McCain’s running mate, the thing that most disturbs me is the suggestion, reported in today’s New York Times, that as Major of Wasilla, Palin was keen to have some books banned from the local library. This because “they were somehow morally or socially objectionable to her”
Sadly, which books she wished to ban is not reported. Did she go with the complete Index Librorum Prohibitorum? Perhaps thinking that in a town of 8000 she could enforce what the Vatican in 1966 decided it wasn’t man enough to do? Or did she pick through the list?
Erasmus – too humanist? Voltaire – too French? Copernicus – too science-y? Balzac – too French? Sartre – too French? Descartes – too French? Kant – who? Flaubert – too French? de Beauvoir – too liberated/too French? Hugo – too French? Larousse – too French? Locke – too liberal? Machiavelli – imprimatur! Mill – too liberal? Milton – a poet, probably gay? Rousseau – too liberal/too French?
Or maybe she just didn’t like Harry Potter. This blogger wants to know.
Dear Blogger: While I, too, can only speculate, I can say that in Niskayuna, NY (pop 20,000ish) there was a small but vocal movement to ban The Witches by Roald Dahl around that time, due to its satanic, anti-Christian content. I would imagine it’s more likely that Palin thinking along those lines, rather than trying to ban books by cheese-eating authors which have never been seen or heard of in the Niskayuna Town Library, much less in Wasilla.
P.S. Please excuse grammar flaws in above comment. Cringe.
I don’t imagine that you think trying to ban the Roald Dahl book is OK?
That’s still censorship.
You don’t get it. It was the librarian who was censoring anthing
coming from a religion where it mentions one god and a god of
love. Any books supporting one god were not being brought in.
I do, too, get it! Banning and censorship is along the same lines as uninformation, disinformation, misinformation, withholding due to self-perceived privilege of information, etc.