From: Sharon Drach Mangas
Columbus
Sometimes I wonder if I’m living in 2022 or the dark ages. I can’t believe Indiana state lawmakers are poised to pass laws in our state to ban books they don’t like, and are ready to impose gag-rules on teachers and librarians — and even consider imprisoning them — if they allow children to read books that they, as politicians, deem inappropriate.
One of the dearest freedoms we have as Americans is freedom of the press. What are you going to do, and where will you stand, when politicians decide they want to control what you read in newspapers? I was always a big reader. In 1960, when I was 9 years old and living in Bloomington, I read in The Indianapolis Star about the murder of 10-year-old Avril Terry from Boonville, Indiana. She was abducted by a handyman who had worked for her parents. He molested Avril over several days at a remote location and then murdered her. After reading the article, I remember asking my mother what the word “molested” meant. We had a discussion. I daresay reading about the terrible murder of a fellow child was just as scary as anything I’ve ever read in a book. What are you going to do if legislators want to start censoring your newspapers? I thought that only happened in countries with totalitarian regimes, like Russia and China.
I grew up in a family of big readers. As the youngest of three, I often read what my sisters read, and at times the books they passed on to me contained concepts or language above my understanding. But I was never banned from reading any book. I read “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger at age 10 and “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller when I was 11 or 12. Both books brought up questions in my mind and birthed discussions with my widowed mother and sisters.
Every book I’ve ever read has given me some insight into the human condition and opened my mind in some way. None of the subject matter of books I’ve read has scarred me for life or done me damage. Quite the opposite. The challenging concepts and varied content I’ve read over the years have been an important part of my education and growth as a human being. Reading books with all kinds of subject matter helped me develop into a critical thinker.
The foundation of our democracy is being challenged by this movement to ban books and gag our teachers and librarians. It’s a slippery slope. Will the newspaper you are reading right now be next on the chopping block? Contact your state legislators today if you are concerned about this growing chink in the armor of sacred American freedoms.
