While semi-conscious this morning, I stumbled into a news article that disturbed me. It concerned a Texas library removing LGBT books from the shelves, and a Federal judge ordering their replacement. As much as I want to be surprised to see these things happen, I am not. The radical right has decided to stop going after the whole of the LGBT community and start to pick on a segment of the community that has a hard time being in stealth mode - us transgenders.
One of the first things that authoritarian wannabe groups try to do is to censor historical information. By purging information from the historical record that conflicts with the group's agenda, they can isolate those who do not share the goals of the group. In America, we do not see many book burnings. Yet, we do see attempts to keep politically incorrect books out of libraries.
But how does this happen?
The American Library Association (ALA) says that the following criteria are used:
- Present and potential relevance to community needs.
- Suitability of physical form for library use.
- Suitability of subject and style for intended audience.
But who chooses relevance to community needs and suitability of subject? If one lives in a metropolitan environment, one is likely to find a diverse set of reading materials, In my library, I might be able to find books chronicling the history of the LGBT community, with Mein Kampf in another aisle. Yet, this diversity may not be found in a small community library in Kansas for many reasons, one of which might be censorship.
I find it hard to excuse censorship for any reason. Yet, I can see why it may be needed in limited circumstances, such as when a country is at war. But how does one root out falsehoods and destroy them? We suffered for 4 years with president Trump, with human garbage such as Kelly Anne Conway spouting out bullshit like "alternative facts". No, things are either objective facts, or they are falsehoods. There is no in-between on this matter. Authoritarians use lies to control people. They use fear to control people. And they use hate to control people.
Years ago, Martin Niemöller, a Lutheran pastor who was a political prisoner for 8 years said:
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
America is in danger of making the same mistakes that were made in Germany 90 years ago. I hope we can check these authoritarian wannabes before it's too late.
