Yes, Banned Books Week is Still Needed

Libraries this week are celebrating Banned Books Week. It's always fun to take a look at the books that were put on various banned lists (like To Kill a Mockingbird or Harry Potter) and get a chuckle out of how narrow-minded certain people/groups of people can be. Seriously, a book about a wizard promotes witchcraft? And I suppose Where the Wild Things Are promotes, ummm, roaring terrible roars?

There are always, of course, a few party poopers who want to rain on a librarian's celebration of advancing knowledge. This time it comes in the form of a poorly headlined, but not too terribly written article in the Washington Post, asking "Do we really still need Banned Books Week?". Ron Charles, the author of the article, wonders why librarians are focusing on "a problem that's largely confined to our repressive past". But, in the U.S., are problems ever really confined to the past? The legacy of racism or poverty (to take two examples) tends to last and last and last. Why wouldn't a problem like the repression of knowledge be just as applicable today as it was all those long years ago?

The answer is because suppressing knowledge and/or preventing others from reading about a clashing worldwide is often bad for certain groups of powerful people. In 1759 the Catholic church and King Louis XV of France banned Diderot's Encyclopédie and it literally had to be smuggled into France after it was printed in Switzerland. Bans like these would also lead to self-censorship. For example, Kate Chopin held back her short story "The Storm" from publication in 1899 "because she recognized it as too explicit and advanced for the period. Her description of passionate lovemaking would have been bad enough, but her endorsement of the adultery would have scandalized her readers." Of course, by "her readers" the critic means stodgy, uptight folks. It wasn't until 1969 that "The Storm" was published, 65 years after Chopin's death.

There are, of course, modern examples such as Florida Governor Rick Scott banning the phrase "global warming", the U.S. Department of Agriculture under Trump ordered this done as well. Forget about a whole book, Rick Scott won't even let state agencies use a phrase! What's next telling towns they can't plan for the consequences of global warming like sea level rise? Oh, that already happened in North Carolina in 2012.

The larger point is that banning books is a symptom of one of those never-ending problems that the U.S. seems to have an abundance of, in this case it isn't racism or poverty, but close-mindedness. Books are still certainly being challenged. Texas seems to have a particular problem with ones on U.S. history or biology. Celebrating Banned Books weeks doesn't mean just laughing about the foolish decisions made by our grouchy ancestors but realizing that suppressing ideas can have real world consequences.

**All views in this post are the author's own and do NOT represent the views of Mercer County Community College**

Why IS College so Expensive?

It's back to school time which means it's time to start asking questions we already know the answer to. This time The Atlantic wants to know "Why is College in American so Expensive?" There's a lot of information in there about how in other countries college is very inexpensive or free. It's worth noting that the author isn't asking the right question "Can we make college in American Very Inexpensive or Free?" We know we can do that, but, apparently it isn't worth examining that question. That's foolish!

We know why college is so expensive and it's for the reason the author dismisses out of hand. College sports is a huge drain on resources that would normally go to teach. Take Rutgers for example, the football program lost $8.2 million in 2016-2017. The Rutgers athletic department as a whole lost $47.4 million. This means that Rutgers had to take $21.3 million from somewhere else in the budget to pay for a 78 to zip shellacking at the hands of Michigan (and in the process screw up a percentage off steak promo at Ruth Chris!).

The author leaves out completely the idea that wealth companies and individuals can pay more towards education. The U.S. is one of the lowest taxed developed nations in the world and this was before the passing of the 2017 tax bill that lowered taxes on businesses and the rich even further. Companies like Verizon have paid no taxes for an extended period of time and companies like General Motors not only didn't pay any taxes they received a credit of $1.9 billion in 2015. Then there are people that are just plain dopey, like this dude whose business got a tax credit of $260 million in 2014 from former NJ governor Chris Christie. There seems to be a couple hundred million in those numbers floating around for some scholarships, tutors, and classroom space.

As a side note to this rich people, when given the opportunity, will donate money to colleges but often to advance their own political-economic agenda.

Asking questions of how college became so expensive is being very late to the game. Heck, they shouldn't even be asking "How do we pay for this?". We know the answer to that one. The real question is are we prepared to do what is necessary to make it happen.

**All views in this post are the author's own and do NOT represent the views of Mercer County Community College**