John Milton wrote: “To kill a person is to kill a rational creature… but to destroy a good book is to kill reason itself.”
Since humans invented writing, book burners have been raging in the world. Although the Library of Alexandria was not burned down as in mythology, the words inside fell out of favor. Being looted, the content is not available to the public. Only a few people read the dark ages of Europe. The priest can read. The same is true for the royal family, but civilians cannot. Books and reading books are kept away from ordinary people as a means of control. Knowledge is for a few people.
The Nazis were notorious book burners. Tyrants are afraid of books because they contain knowledge. Sometimes uncomfortable knowledge. A few years ago, it was unheard of for librarians to retrieve books from physical or digital shelves. It is very common now. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer have been withdrawn from the library because they contain “that word”.
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s book, even her name was deleted from history because she grew up in the West and wrote what she knew.
The Book Burner canceled some Dr. Seuss. Facebook and Amazon have eliminated actual doctors who misunderstood a certain Chinese virus.
This week the American Booksellers Association. Kneel at Woke Alter and digitally burn Abigail Shrier’s book “Irreversible Damage”. The written statement is absurd. The association called the dissemination of her book a “serious incident of violence.” why? Because a few children disguised as adults screamed at them.
I don’t expect book writers to know John Milton or read anything he wrote, or for that matter read Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Book-burners don’t read—they burn books. The book burner is used to burn books. Now they do it by pressing the keys.
