Banned Books

While the kids and I were on our road trip through Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, Ron spoke in support of the school board's actions in the John Freshwater case at the Aug. 4 school board meeting. As he entered the room, he was given a sheet of paper by a man standing beside the door and told "this is a list of books we want to ban." Or was the word "burn"? Ron said there was too much background noise to tell for sure. I know we're not the only community to have people trying to ban books from schools, but it certainly is discouraging to find this in my own backyard. My reaction, of course, is to read any of the books on the list that I haven't already read (in fact, this morning I suggested to a local bookstore owner that she put up a display of these books and told her I'd bring her the list--she's the bookstore owner quoted in the Chicago Tribune article about the local controversy over Freshwater's firing).

Books to be banned (or burned?) by Freshwater's supporters (with accompanying notes):
Ironman
*author Robert Cormier*
Fade (2 copies)
We all Fall Down
In the Middle of the Night
Heroes
Daring to Disturb the Universe
*author Ann Brashares*
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
*author Garret Freymann-Weyr*
Stay with Me
My Heartbeat
*author Laurie Halse Anderson*
Speak (1MS, 1HS)
Fever (HS1 MS1, Elementary 5)
The Way of all Flesh --Morton Zabel
Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle (lesbian)
The Giver --Lois Lowry
Bleachers
Inexcusable by Chris Lynch
Bless Me Ultima
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
America by E.R. Frank
Fallen Angels Walter Myers
Stuck in Neutral Terry Newman
The Guy Book Marvas Jukes
Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe
The Woman Warrior Maxine Hong Kingston
The Hot Zone Richard Preston
Native Son Richard Wright
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Ragtime E.L. Doctorow (6 copies)
The Moves Make the Man Bruce Brooks
A Room on Lorelei Street
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood
Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbson
Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
Forever by Judy Blume
Go Ask Alice by anonymous author
*author John Green*
Looking for Alaska (oral sex)
An Abundance of Katherines
*author Ellen Wittlinger*
Sandpiper (oral sex)
Heart on my Sleeve
What's in a Name
*author Toni Morrison*
The Bluest Eyes
Beloved (1CD 2 books)
The Song of Solomon
*author Chris Crutcher* (10 different titles, 13 copies)
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes
Lucas --Kevin Brooks
Whale Talk (1 MS 2 HS)
The Secret Life of Bees
Athletic Shorts (1 MS 3 HS)
Under the Wolf Under the Dog
Stotan
The Kite Runner Khaled Hussien
The Color Purple Alice Walker
I Know Why a Caged Bird Sings
Endgame Nancy Garoner
Doormat Kelly McWilliams
Doing It Right Bronwen Pardes
The Joy Luck Club Amy Tan
The House You Passed on the Way
101 Questions About Sex
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
Taking Responsibility: Teen Guide to Contraceptives & Pregnancy
Sexual Violence: Opposing View
The Glass Cafe Gary Paulsen
Peeps Scott Westerfeld
The Awakening Kate Chopin

This whole Freshwater fiasco has pushed me further away from the idea that Christianity can be a force for good in today's world (and if you still think it can, then please explain to me why The Handmaid's Tale and Things Fall Apart are on that list--the only possible explanation is that they put Christianity in a bad light.)

So I'm becoming a pastafarian. I just read The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (There's an associated website at http://venganza.org/). The "Gospel" is a satire on creationism/intelligent design, written in reaction to the Kansas school board's attempt to work creationism/intelligent design into their school curriculum. It's a satire aimed at people just like the guy who addressed his letter to the editor to me, people who believe that "alternative theories (to evolution) must be taught in order to give our young students' minds a broad foundation." So The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster begins by saying that "The Intelligent Design proponents make a compelling, and totally legitimate, argument that if a theory has not been proven, then one suggested theory is just as good as another" and it goes on to offer alterative theories to the theory of gravity.

Read it and weep. I did.