NC Baptist: On book bans, Moms for Liberty sure has a narrow view of liberty
If banning books in the libraries of our public schools and classrooms sounds dystopian or an action that only could transpire in totalitarian regimes such as that of Putin’s Russia, you might want to take a deep breath and learn more of the growing organization titled Moms for Liberty.
Our Founding Fathers — Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Benjamin Franklin to name a few — were intelligent, free thinkers who read the classics of the literature of their era.
In addition, they were not Christians, they were Deists. Jefferson was known to have a copy of the Islamic faith’s holy book, the Quran, which he often consulted. Our Constitution was hammered out by way of compromise giving us the freedom of and from religion.
Critical thinking skills would lead one to support the freedom of expression in our literature and books as a society governed within a democratic republic. If certain works by particular authors offend one’s religious standards this should never mean that those offended have the right or power to deny others the right of access to such books or literature.
As a college student I was enamored with the works of Mark Twain and took a course on his life and works. I could not imagine why, in certain periods of our nation’s history, his works were banned. It seemed that certain references to race and poverty were deemed to have a negative impact on the minds of readers.
Being a student of history I took the time to read Hitler’s work, Mein Kampf, and to research eyewitness descriptions of his death camps and his penchant for whipping German citizens into a book burning frenzy which included many classic works of the masters.
Banning books which offend a particular group of citizens and their religious/moral beliefs is a slippery slope into the darkness of the tyranny of the minority.
The banning of books has a long and tragic history in world history and is raising its ugly head once again in our nation. The impact of a warped and distorted sense of Christian nationalism and a depth of ignorance as to the origin and intended audience of the Critical Race Theory has spurred the growing cult of book banning in the growing presence of Moms for Liberty.
To those uninformed members of the U.S. electorate, the national leadership of the Republican Party has strategized in targeting local boards of education as a means to change the dynamics of our public schools’ curriculum. Thus, there is currently underway, a national strategy led by the Republican Party, to target local boards of education by supporting candidates who reflect the thinking of Moms for Liberty.
The Republican Party’s efforts also include the whitewashing of our nation’s history when it comes to racism, racial inequality, the history of slavery (which includes slave farms that constructed breeding barns for the purpose of literally breeding more slaves), and our own holocaust regarding the dark history of our government’s treatment of Native Americans.
As an N.C. Baptist and someone who has worked for the New England and Missouri Baptist Conventions, I would like to humbly suggest that the devotees of Moms for Liberty take note of the Library Bill of Rights, which is a list of seven rights, two of which are as follows:
▪ Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
▪ Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
Moms for Liberty represents a tyranny of the minority seeking to subjugate the majority to the organization’s narrow view of “liberty.”
Edward “Ned” Walsh is retired and lives in Princeton, NC. He is former executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Johnston County and was previously director of the Department of Christian Education for the Baptist Convention of New England.
