I’ve been reading so many articles, in so many magazines, about the countless number of books that people are trying to ban. Even to the point where they just want to completely shut down the library. Have we gone mad?

Many states claim to be the 1st and therefore have the oldest public library system in the country. Between 1881 and 1919, philanthropist Andrew Carnegie helped build more than 1700 public libraries. One of the first free libraries was in the state of NH in Peterborough. It was voted in a town meeting to use part of the state literary library fund to purchase books for a free town library.

Such forward thinking people in the 1800s! And now in 2023, people are not only banning so many books but are also suggesting we shut the libraries down. In some states, if the librarian isn’t removing certain books from the shelves or is suggesting a particular book to a student who is looking for a subject matter that some consider inappropriate for a not yet completely formed young brain to be exposed to, she can go to prison or pay a $10,000 fine! And the inappropriate subjects are, you can probably guess, written by blacks who are sharing their lives with the world, or people in the LGBTQ community who, like the blacks, just want you to know about the stresses, abuses, and prejudices that they encounter daily.

So, I wonder, who are these people and what are they afraid of? Or is it all just about controlling a world that they can no longer understand? I would guess it is both, fear and control, because the two usually do go together. Do they believe that if a child reads about a person who identifies as LGBTQ that they will join the LGBTQ community? And these are likely the same people who believe if teens read about sex they will immediately run out and engage in wild, unprotected sex. Did they ever have any of these tendencies themselves, gay or lesbian thoughts when they were younger, or engage in teenage unprotected sex so they know how a child can be scorned and ostracized from their peer group or abused from people just like themselves who are afraid of change? Are they really sympathetic to the groups that don’t fit in to our ‘normal’ society? Somehow, I believe it is more the people who fear life and the changes that are happening faster than they can assimilate into their own world, one where they feel protected and safe.

But to attempt to shut down a library, a free library where people who cannot afford to purchase books can read for free, that is bordering on insanity! There has always been a certain percentage of the population who wants to keep another percentage of the population ignorant. Why? Think about it – people are easier to control and you can spread lies and because this percentage of the population is uneducated and cannot read, to either agree with or disprove the lies that are being spread, that they are being fed, they will accept the lies as truth. Are these the same people who are trying to ban so many books and even close libraries across the country?

There is an evil taking over the country and we, the educated and those who can understand and see what is happening must be alert, aware, and stop these control-freaks before we lose all of our freedoms.