Confessions first鈥擨鈥檓 addicted to mystery adventure books and this month that ends in , has me thinking about banned books more than usual. Imagine then my surprise when I began listening to a Sam and Remi Fargo mystery yesterday. The book began in Mexico with the infamous Maya book burning of July 12, 1562, during an inquisition ordered by , bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Yucat谩n. A number of Maya codices (some 27 books) and approximately 5,000 Maya cult images were burned.
This made me think of a modern-day book burning case from 2005 when a group of parents in Norwood, Colorado, took an English assignment in hand and, with the superintendent鈥檚 permission, .
And then I remembered Mary Kent Whittaker鈥檚 experience shared in ,鈥淣obody Expects the Spanish Inquisition,鈥� about the challenge to her teaching of Isabel Allende鈥檚 The House of the Spirits.
I want to think of these incidents as isolated cases built on some sort of misunderstanding but in , 28% of those Americans surveyed said they believe that some books should be banned鈥攁 10-point increase over the 2011 survey. On average, 40% of those interviewed said that children should not read books with references to violence, witchcraft, sorcery, sex, drugs, alcohol, or vampires. So no Harry Potter, Looking for Alaska, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Dracula, Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, etc., etc., etc.
So what鈥檚 left? Obviously, words are important鈥攆or some, important enough to burn. But I want to join Bookmans bookstore in pointing out that words are much more important to light up our minds.