Views on News • July 23rd, 2009

Book burning? Seriously?

by Chris Lato

Is this Wisconsin in 2009 or Germany in 1933? What a great way for the Badger State to be portrayed in the news!

OK, maybe that’s an overreaction. But calls for book burnings in West Bend are so backward, so anti- free speech, it’s both a little scary and comically over the top all at once.

There is material in some of these books that offend some sensibilities. Understood.

 But wait: why can’t parents be trusted to play a role in their kids’ lives – to keep an eye on what they’re reading/watching/playing on their Xbox?

Granted, some do a better job than others, but the alternative is growing the ‘nanny state’ while chilling speech - and there’s no telling where the lines can be drawn and where all this will stop. Who are these protestors to tell parents what is acceptable or objectionable for young people to read? I’m not saying these ARE appropriate books for certain age groups, but isn’t that for a parent to decide on a case-by-case basis?

Regardless, this is an intriguing debate that escalated to surreal proportions now that some folks started hollering about burning books. They don’t live in West Bend - but claim their “mental and emotional well-being was damaged by [the] book at the library.”

Huh? To quote John McEnroe, you cannot be serious.

 Besides, don’t these book-burning types know there’s way, way worse stuff even more readily accessible on the Internet?

Oops. Don’t want to give anyone ideas….

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