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.
Nikki Haley Resigns from Role as US Ambassador to the UN
Trump says he will announce her replacement in two to three weeks' time.
President Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley, announced this morning that she will be resigning at the end of the year.
Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, was appointed as ambassador in 2016 shortly after Trump's election. She was an outspoken critic of Trump prior to his election, so when he named her the envoy to the world body the appointment was seen as a peacekeeping move.
However, it appears any previously existing tension between them has been resolved, as the two continually emphasized their admiration for each other in an oval office press conference this morning. Trump said he believes Haley has helped make the position of UN ambassador "more glamorous" and "more important," and said that "many people" want the job. He went on to say that, "She's done a fantastic job, and we've done a fantastic job together," adding that Haley has been, "very special to me." Trump says he will announce the name of the new ambassador in two to three weeks.
Associated Press
Trump claimed that Haley informed him of her plan to resign several months ago, but The Hill reports that Haley's staff and Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, were supposedly "blindsided" by the news. President Trump said regarding Pompeo, "I can speak for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He thinks the world of Nikki." Pompeo has yet to comment on Haley's resignation.
Despite the abrupt nature of her departure, Haley was considered by many to have been a stabilizing force within the Trump administration. The New York Times describes her as, "someone whom foreign diplomats looked to for guidance from an administration known for haphazard and inconsistent policy positions."
Peter Yeo, a U.N. Foundation official, told the Washington Post that Haley, "was critical in ushering in U.N. reforms in partnership with the secretary general, and she took a thoughtful approach to peacekeeping and national security issues." He went on to say, "There certainly were great areas of contention between the United States and the U.N. But she played a very important and constructive role."
Haley was the first cabinet United Nations ambassador for a Republican administration since the end of the Cold War. There has been some past speculation that Haley saw the position as a way to climb to a higher political post, which Trump may have resented. But Haley put any rumors of a 2020 presidential run to rest this morning, saying, "For all of you that are going to ask about 2020, no, I'm not running for 2020," Haley said. "I can promise you what I'll be doing is campaigning for this one. So I look forward to supporting the president in the next election."
Haley described her job as US ambassador to the United Nations as the "honor of a lifetime."
Brooke Ivey Johnson is a Brooklyn based writer, playwright, and human woman. To read more of her work visit her blog or follow her twitter @BrookeIJohnson- Trump accepts Nikki Haley's resignation as UN ambassador | Fox ... ›
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