Banned Books Week - In support of Freedom to choose!

I am participating for the first time in Create With Joy's Friendship Friday - nice to meet all of the people who are finding Acting Balanced for the first time!  I hope it's not your last visit!


Now on to the topic at hand - Banned Books

Whenever I hear that someone wants to make a choice about what others can or cannot read it disturbs me in ways that run deeper than a lot of injustices... just last year, here in Charleston, a parent tried to have a book removed from the curriculum and school libraries - and you can read my synopsis and response here

but for me, it all boils down to this quote by the great Dr. Martin Luther King:

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically... Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”

In writing, publishing and sharing multiple world views we provoke discussion, emotion and thought - taking away choice to see the whole world rather than just a piece of it can be a breeding ground for fear, bullying, tyranny and worse...

Critical thinking skills are one's most valuable resource and we should be nurturing children and adults to develop theirs rather than blindly choosing a path because it might disturb them or make them rethink their position.