How to help Ukraine NOW & Book Banning
How to help Ukraine: A few ways to help Ukraine, LA Times, Global Citizen, USA Today, The Cut, The Guardian, Fast Company (See Ukraine page)
Dear all readers:
Aside from the steady march forward toward a Ukrainian - Russian military conflict which threatens to engulf the whole of the west; this month brought us back to issues of book banning and guns.
Banning books is not a new phenomenon in the United States. Perhaps the best known example of a banned book was the 1938, Henry Miller book, The Tropic of Cancer. The book was banned from entering the United States due to its explicit sexual nature. The publisher, Grove Press and the ACLU then took the ban to court, and in 1961 the ban was actually lifted, although the book itself was still labelled as obscene. It was not until 1964 however, that the book was officially declared by the Supreme Court to be protected by the Constitution. In fact, attempts to censor specific works and ban books continues whether political culture wars trend left or right.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution passed by Congress September 25, 1789. Ratified December 15, 1791. (specific reference)
The American Library Association (ALA) often functions as the front line for book challenges and bans proposed by interest groups for local libraries and school districts. They take the position that censorship violates the first amendment and “that parents—and only parents—have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children—and only their children—to library resources.” The ALA position is that the first amendment protects ones right to express one's opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular, and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them. Books can be challenged if they are deemed by certain audiences to be sexually, religiously or politically offensive. There are numerous challenges to specific books at any given time in the US, but very few books are actually banned.
The ALA reported that 2021 and 2022, there have been record levels of book challenges for political and social reasons. Books containing “sensitive” content on racial and or gender areas play a vital role in local and state political campaigns. For example, the use of CRT, Critical Race Theory, (although utterly immaterial in Youngkin’s campaign, ) and the Pulitzer prize winning book, Beloved, by Toni Morrison, about a freed Civil War slave, were used as talking points or “dog whistles” in the campaign rhetoric of Glenn Youngkin, the successful 2020 Virginia gubernatorial candidate. A Republican Texas state lawmaker Representative Matt Krause who is facing a fierce primary challenge from his right, is targeting at least 850 books from a list he has compiled contending that they deal explicitly with sex, race and gender in ways that "might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress.”
By virtue of the Fourteenth Amendment, the First Amendment's constitutional right of free speech and intellectual freedom also applies to state and local governments. Government agencies and government officials are forbidden from regulating or restricting speech or other expression based on its content or viewpoint. Criticism of the government, political dissatisfaction, and advocacy of unpopular ideas that people may find distasteful or against public policy are nearly always protected by the First Amendment. (specific reference)
Using model legislation drafted by national conservative groups and backed by wealthy donors, nationwide, organizations such as Moms for Liberty, Parents Defending Education, and No Left Turn in Education are attempting to implement their agenda, banning specific controversial titles, particularly in schools but also in the public libraries. While these groups are in different states, they do encourage the banning of similar and/or the same literature. Some of these works challenge conventional gender norms, openly discuss LGBTQ persons or encourage learning about racism as an integral part of the country’s history. Several states including, Pennsylvania, Utah, Texas, Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee and Wyoming are among those states currently facing local book challenges. Ironically, the work of Ta Nehisi Coates and Nikole Hannah-Jones (The 1619 Project) which focus on new perspectives of African American in US history, have gained widespread academic and public acceptance at precisely the same time as they are being challenged in local communities and schools. Furthermore, the ban of the book Maus, notably banned in Tennessee last week, has hit the best seller list this week as a result.
Among many commonly ‘challenged’ books are:
"Maus" by Art Spiegelman depicts the author asking his father, a Holocaust survivor, about his experiences. objections due to its eighth-grade curriculum because of profanity and anthropomorphized mouse nudity.
"1984" by George Orwell, about a dystopian totalitarian government that censors information, brainwashes citizens, and persecutes them for individualist, critical thinking.
" The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood, set in a totalitarian theocratic society where women cannot hold property or jobs. A group of women, called "handmaids," are forced to produce children for the ruling class of men.
Other books on most banned lists are: Catcher in the Rye, Dear Martin, The Fault in Our Stars, The Great Gatsby, Native Son, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Adventures of Captain Underpants, and many more. For other lists see:
Even The Harry Potter Series has been challenged in some Christian communities because of its presentation of the supernatural and non Christian symbolism.
Each year the ALA holds a Banned Books Week in September in order to increase awareness about attempts to ban literature in schools, libraries, and universities. For more of the ALA position on intellectual freedom and the first amendment, see: the attached.
Onto Banning Guns and Sandy Hook:
No. guns are not going to be banned in any way, at all as a result of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which occurred on December 14, 2012, leaving 28 people dead, 20 children and 6 adults including the shooter’s mother and shooter. Nor are guns going to be banned as a result of Columbine, the Stoneman Douglas High School shootings or the numerous other public and school shootings since the Sandy Hook incident. No ban of guns or limits on ammunition or even a national registry of gun owners has been introduced into law or implemented. BUT, this last week there was a settlement between the Remington Gun Manufacturer and the victims of the Sandy Hill attack. The settlement opens the door to more such settlements which may illustrate to whom firearms manufacturers aim the sale of their products.
The 73 million dollar settlement this week with the Sandy Hook families with Remington Firearms is extraordinary because it occurred in spite of the 2005 law, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, or P.L.C.A.A., which is a specific “carve out” within the law that gives the industry special protections against most civil suits. It is also extraordinary because it will make available to others the release of internal company documents revealing company calculations determining the market segment and to whom advertising of military-style guns is targeted. This, as the article about the settlement in the New Yorker points out, could potentially hurt Remington and the industry more than the monetary settlement. Like tobacco, knowing who the firearms’ companies are appealing to in their advertising is potentially an extremely costly determination. Understanding that even though the results of this court case may make production of firearms more pricey; the hope is that this decision could reveal regulations which shield them repeatedly from any legal culpability in any shooting incident in which their firearms are involved, thereby leading to their repeal. More details about the settlement can be found here and here.
Our Q & A this month features a question about the Ukrainian population in the US and asks if they are a large enough political interest group to place real pressure on policy makers regarding material and military assistance. We also received a question on children wishing to attend schools outside of their home districts and whether or not it is a real alternative and if so, is it affordable. Finally, we received a question about getting involved in ones local community’s school board. The questions facing local school boards today in such areas as mask wearing, vaccinations and book banning, as discussed above, are some of the reasons to consider getting involved in ones local government and ones local school board.
Our Geo-Source locality this month is a feature about the little known capital city of Illinois, Springfield. Most of us probably know this town as the home of Abraham Lincoln and there is lots of Lincoln memorabilia, but it is a fun and sleepy central Illinois on US Route 66 like Tulsa, Oklahoma, our first GeoSource spot. .
Finally
If you have CivicSources.com on your phone, you have a copy of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights right in your pocket or purse! They are right there in the American Sources section of CivicSources.com. They are there in their entirety. Each is spelled out in clear and understandable language. So, we can all be smarter!
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