Attacks on Our Freedom to Read

I have initiated this site to comment on the gridlock and friction that is causing our country to grind to a halt. I will be running a sister site that reports on the news separately and this site to editorialize on that news. The concept of this site was sparked by the story below(see Original Story).

I learned of this story about 24 hours before it broke and did not at that time have any means to report on it. I now do and will continue to report other breaking news in the future.

This story represents a good example of one group attempting to manipulate portions of society to fit their morals or lack there of by sniping at invented problems. A parent in Gwinnett County, Georgia, a state with one of the lowest educational records in the country, [has been fighting since the fall of 2005] to remove books written to encourage school children to read more and watch less TV.

Why? Because the books, Harry Potter series, promotes demons and witchcraft and has a main character that lies, cheats and steals. There are many classics that do all of the above and then some, however this parent has singled out this series without reading the books herself.

Now, I have lived in this Grinnett County for almost 4 years. The request to remove books off the shelves is backwards. It is an affront to free speech and leads to a reduction in access to information. Censorship in schools if allowed will lead to attempts at censorship on the Internet, the press and other forms of speech. This harms all of us. If these extremist views of a parent are forced on other people in a school, county, state or country it becomes harmful.

The ranting about promotion of witchcraft and demons is all a red herring. Laura Mallory can guide her own children in their reading behavior, but she should not be allowed to dictate to mine or anyone else's children.

For those not familiar with this particular county, its one of the largest fastest growing counties in the state. It also happens to have some of the best public schools in the state. This is not saying much for a state that ranks 48 out of 50 in education. Maybe Laura Mallory should be doing something constructive like trying to get her children to read as much as possible and critically think the material so that this state can move out of the 19th century.

Maybe then one of her children might even be smart enough to become a programmer and create a news service to rival Digg itself.

Curious that Laura Mallory is not principled enough to demand that CS Lewis's books about Narnia should be removed from the shelves, or for that matter, Shakespeare, Macbeth, The legend of King Arthur, all fantasy books, Cinderella, Snow White, or for that matter anything by Disney in General. This situation seems to be a silly ploy based out of ignorance.


Original Story

Ledger-Enquirer.com 04/14/2006 Gwinnett wants Harry Potter book series off shelves: "LOGANVILLE, Ga. (AP) - A Gwinnett County parent wants the Harry Potter book series removed from all school libraries.
Laura Mallory, who has three children that attend J.C. Elementary in Loganville, is asking the state's largest school system to remove the best-selling Potter series from the shelves.
Gwinnett County Associate Superintendent Cindy Loe told board members in a hearing on Thursday that Mallory's request will take place on April 20.
Mallory hasn't completely read any of the books. But she said she has read portions of a few books and was offended by the demonic activity. "My personal religious views don't agree with these books," Mallory said. "We need for our children to read things that teach good morals. Harry Potter lies, cheats and steals and there is no accountability. There are better things for our children to be reading."
The mother of four first challenged the book in September at her children's school, saying the books glorified witchcraft.
Magill Elementary and the school district's review panels already have ruled that the books should remain within the schools.
Students may check out the books while the system handles the complaint, school spokeswoman Sloan Roach said. Parents can request their children be prohibited from taking out any particular books, she said."