It’s National Library Week, so I’ve been thinking a lot about knowledge and the idea that knowledge should be readily available – for all. An informed populace is crucial to the health of the nation and a bulwark of democracy. The ability to think, to reason, to avoid being fooled, all these notions are tied to reading and easy access to the wisdom of the ages.
And this is exactly why libraries – and their contents – are under siege these days.
HuffPost’s Jennifer Bendery recently told readers:
“Librarians are living in constant fear. They have become the targets
of Republican politicians and far-right groups like Moms for Liberty
Liberty that are hellbent on burning books about LGBTQ+ people,
people of color and racism. Some librarians are quitting their jobs
because of constant harassment; others are getting fired for
refusing to clear shelves of books that conservatives don’t like.”
If that’s not bad enough – and it is – Bendery informs us there’s another evil twist in the tale: “The GOP’s censorship campaign has shifted from book bans to legislation threatening librarians with jail time.” Idaho’s tried several times to enact such legislation; this February, West Virginia passed a bill “making librarians criminally liable if a minor comes across content that some might consider obscene.” Idaho, Iowa, Alabama, and Georgia are also considering various means of keeping books they don’t like off the shelves...and they’re not alone.
The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom shared some frightening statistics: “The number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92% over the previous year, accounting for about 46% of all book challenges in 2023; school libraries saw an 11% increase over 2022 numbers.”
Given these ever-more-frequent, ever-more-strident attacks, what can a concerned reader do to stem the tide of book-banning?
PEN America, an organization whose mission “is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible,” offers a number of ways to make one’s voice heard. Whether you’re a student, a parent, an author, or a librarian, PEN America provides advice, assistance, and resources to keep you informed and ready to push back.
The need to support the nation’s libraries is more urgent than ever. In Bendery’s HuffPost piece, American Library Association President Emily Drabinski draws a chilling conclusion: “What gets lost in conversations about book banning is that it’s really about eliminating the institution of the library, period. It’s not about the books. Well, it is about the books, but the books are the way in to gut one of the last public institutions that serves everyone.”
“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture,” Ray Bradbury once said. “Just get people to stop reading them.”
Bradbury was one of the 20th century’s finest fabulists, the author of The Martian Chronicles, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and the worldwide blockbuster Fahrenheit 451. Published in 1952, the novel Fahrenheit 451 is set in a future where books are illegal and firemen don’t put out fires – they start them. Printed matter is what they burn.
Bradbury was writing in the tense, paranoid early years of the McCarthy era. But he might as well have penned those words last Thursday.
Support your local library. Speak up for the voices the hate-mongers would shut down. Before – as history’s proven again and again – they try to shut down yours.
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Students fight a book ban by giving away free banned bookswww.youtube.com
The New York Public Library has also weighed in on the matter, you can find its suggestions here.
The New Jersey Senate Race Reflects a Country Willing to Cut Ties with Trump At Any Cost
New Jersey voters face a difficult choice.
It's a tough pill for progressives to swallow that in the age of the Trump GOP, one of our most flagrantly corrupt politicians is a Democratic senator. It's difficult to say when exactly the scandals surrounding New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez began, but it may have been as early as 2006, when "federal prosecutors suspected that the New Jersey senator had steered federal funds to a nonprofit group that was paying him rent." Or in 2014, when Menendez allegedly helped free two accused Ecuadorian criminals in exchange for campaign donations. There have even been rumors that just before Menendez's 2012 election, he was involved with underage prostitutes in the Dominican Republic, though the FBI ultimately found no evidence to support these allegations.
At this point, Menendez has escaped all of these scandals relatively unscathed. The most he has faced in the way of repercussions was the Senate Ethics Committee "severely admonishing" him for accepting over a million dollars in gifts from an affluent Florida eye doctor. But whether Menendez's behavior has been explicitly unlawful or not, there is no question that the Democratic senator has a questionable moral compass unbecoming of a lawmaker, as well as a knack for getting out of trouble. And now, thanks to the virulently anti-Trump attitude of New Jersey, Menendez may just avoid negative consequences once again.
The Star Ledger
In an average year, New Jersey voters would likely settle for a republican Senator instead of appearing to condone Menendez and the corruption he has come to represent. Indeed, in the latest poll conducted by Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics, only 28 percent of New Jersey voters view Menendez favorably. But, it appears he may just win reelection anyway, as he currently leads Republican Bob Hugin by a narrow margin ahead of Tuesdays midterm election. While Menendez is, in a word, slimy, the historically blue state appears to be willing to grit their teeth and bear him in order to avoid electing a Senator with clear Trump affiliations. Menendez's opponent, Bob Hugin, is a pharmaceutical mogul who raised money for Trump's campaign in 2016, donated $200,000 to Trump, and served as a convention delegate for Trump. As a result, New Jerseyans are facing what many editorials call "the most depressing choice for New Jersey voters in a generation."
Philly.com
The fact is that this is not a normal midterm election, and progressive voters are willing to put up with a lot to take back congress. The extremist rhetoric and erratic behavior that has become characteristic of Trump's presidency is driving people to the polls in record numbers already, and that is expected to remain true during regular voting on Tuesday. Trump's presidency has forced many previously moderate Americans to cling, unquestioningly, to the Democratic Party, because for all of the democrats' flaws, at least they aren't tainted by the White House's toxic run-off. If Menendez does manage to win reelection, he can thank this Trump-fueled reticence towards conservative candidates. As Drew Sheneman writes for the New Jersey paper The Star Ledger, by voting for Menendez, "Are you rewarding a man who in no way deserves a reward? Certainly. Should you do it anyway? Certainly."
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