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Vote Blue
February 10, 2024
When I click on a new tab in my search engine, I’m greeted with the current headlines. This one caught my eye:
Moms for Liberty Fail to Ban Books at Brevard School Board Meeting amid Fiery Arguments (msn.com)
One of the books this fascist group is trying to ban is Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut. The novel centers on the bombing of Dresden during WWII. Vonnegut was a renowned writer of the postmodern genre.
I vividly recall reading Slaughterhouse 5 in high school and putting together a presentation with a classmate. We read excerpts from the book while showing slides of scenes from the holocaust. This would have been around 1980. So, more than 40 years ago, I had free and full access to information about factually proven historical events from books available in my school library. I had full access to the works of current authors. There was no controversy. There was no question about the book we had chosen or the slideshow we presented. No controversy whatsoever. It was part of our education.
Now, more than 40 years hence, books showcasing the full spectrum of ideas and world views, which is the hallmark of democracy, are viewed as a threat. Truth is viewed as leftist indoctrination. The notion that factually proven historical events should be suppressed, that students should not be allowed to study…
