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.
Processed Foods That Are Now "Extinct"
Let's take a trip down memory lane – minus the bloating and bellyaches
Oh, processed foods of yesteryear, we hardly knew ye. As kids, many of us took for granted that one day, some of our favorite goodies would be long gone. As we sipped and snacked on stuff that was no good for us in the first place, we never even considered the notion that those delights wouldn't be around forever. We could have truly savored that final taste of artificial flavoring as we licked the tips of our fingers covered in colors not found in nature. Sigh.
Let's take a trip down memory lane – minus the bloating and bellyaches – and reminisce about some of those palate-pleasing processed foods that are now "extinct." Sure, new ones have taken their place, but these "oldies but goodies" deserve an encore. They may never return to store shelves, but they certainly deserve a more formal final goodbye.
Jell-O Pudding Pops
Jell-O Pudding Popsi.pinimg.com
It's hard to separate the thought of Jell-O Pudding Pops from the brand's former ambassador, Bill Cosby, but take the salacious current events out of the picture and try to remember those smooth and creamy frozen treats that made pudding really pop. Cosby helped make them famous, but kids and adults alike would probably would have gobbled them up without a celeb's convincing.
Through the 1990s, the pops were selling in stores across America… 'till they weren't. What happened? As per Culinary Lore, "The Jell-O name was licensed to Popsicle, the same people who make the inferior Fudgesicles, and they began marketing Popsicle brand Jell-O Pudding Pops." The shape and recipe were tweaked, and sales plummeted. Circa 2011, the pops popped off the radar. Alas, we'd have to consume pudding the old-fashioned way once again. Pass a spoon please.
Heinz EZ Squirt Ketchup
Heinzs15739.pcdn.co
Ketchup that is easy to squirt is something we can jump on board with, but Heinz EZ Squirt Ketchup turned "easy" into "queasy." We all love dipping our French fries into the bright red condiment, but when Heinz went full-prism spectrum on us, the short-lived marketing concept went bust faster than we regretted buying a bottle of the questionable stuff in the first place.
Yes, kids loved the idea of purple or orange ketchup, and when the brand released 'Blastin' Green' to coincide with Shrek, they thought they found liquid gold. But fads are fun for a while until consumers long for food that doesn't resemble unicorn barf. By early 2006, red was the new black, once again.
Gatorgum
Gatorgumi.imgur.com
We see pro athletes as well as teens who hang out at 7-11 slug back Gatorade like it's going out of style, but what did, in fact, go out of style back in 1989 was the brand's gum… Gatorgum. What sounds like a reptilian dental condition was actually a super-sour chewing "gum for active people" which claimed to quench thirst. If you ever had some yourself, you remember how it made your salivary glands ache as you eagerly unwrapped that first piece from a brand-new pack. The good old days.
Gatorade stopped making the gum, but their beverages are still being sold by the boatloads. We wised up and realized that gum really can't quench thirst very effectively after all.
Pepsi Blue
Pepsicdn.shopify.com
Pepsi is as American as apple pie, but thankfully, apple pie has never been dyed blue, as far as anyone knows anyhow. So, why Pepsi… why did you have to take a good thing and make it a not-so-good thing? Pepsi Blue, a bright blue carbonated berry-flavored beverage was created in 2002 and only lasted in America for two years.
Cloyingly-sweet and extra-sticky, this drink may have made kids bounce off the walls as they marveled at their alien tongues, but parents weren't too pleased to learn that the freaky blue color was made usingBlue 1, an "agent banned in numerous countries." Pepsi is unhealthful enough, were they trying to kill us?
Butterfinger BBs
Surely some dopey kid choked on a delicious Butterfinger BB and caused Nestle to shelve their tasty morsels of the traditional Butterfinger candy bar, ruining the fun for everyone. We all remember how much Bart Simpson loved his Butterfinger bars, so imagine his disappointment when the BBs were discontinuedaround 2006.
When eating a normal-sized candy bar seemed too daunting, chocolate and peanut butter fans could get a quick fix by popping those crispy BBs into their pie-holes one at a time. And lovers of the canned candy are pissed. There is even a Change.org page set up to petition to bring the candy back. Hey, everyone has a cause that tugs at their heartstrings.
C-3PO's Cereal
C-3PO's Cerealcereal-graveyard.wikia.com
Star Wars and cereal fans' worlds collided when Kellogg's introducedC-3PO's cerealin the mid-80s. Crunchy and honey-sweetened, the three-grain cereal shaped like little figure-eights was a kid-favorite breakfast treat.
Naturally,each box came with a prize inside, like trading cards and masks, making the eating experience more like a morning at the movies. The cereal had a nice 16-year "shelf life" but was canned in 2000. Maybe the lack of marshmallow bits was its downfall.
Carnation Breakfast Bar
Carnation Breakfast Bargbnfgroceries.blogspot.com
The on-the-go Carnation Breakfast Barwas a fan favorite, bringing great taste, nutrition, and a sweet treat to the breakfast table or lunchbox. Chewy and crunchy, the granola bar/candy bar/energy bar goodie was covered in chocolate and made breakfast fun.
There were various flavors to choose from including chocolate chip, chocolate crumb, granola with peanut butter, and caramel nut crunch. And according to the box, "One bar with a glass of milk (made) a complete meal!" Who needed eggs and sausage when breakfast came from a cardboard box?
From 1975-1993 Carnation Breakfast Bars were in the hands of hungry kids and adults alike, making us wonder what they've been eating since.