Censorship on Demand

Source: https://sites.psu.edu/worldwidewomen/censorship-effects-on-society/

 

Censorship group: We have a list of 200 books we would like removed from the library's shelves immediately!

Library: Well, let's take a look here and...umm, actually we don't have any of those titles in our library.

Censorship group: We're going to go after your collection policy!

Library: But why? We don't have those titles here.

Censorship group: But according to your policy, you could! Someday! Maybe! Possibly!

The above dialogue is not an imagined scenario, it is my way of presenting something that really happened in the United States of 'Murica. Now that the Karens and Chads have lost the masking policies as a form of self-congratulatory faux activism, they're once more focusing on ideas. It's all in the name of the children, of course, because that's how they accomplish their agenda. Everybody who has a different way of thinking is "grooming" the poor innocent kids as if they don't groom them to become pro-censorship, anti-science wackjobs with blatant self-worth issues. 

There is an organization comprised of, surprise-surprise, conservative women who are aggressively trying to do everything they can to make censorship great again. Why do I say "again?" Well, there was a time when it was the norm in this country. In fact, the notion of unfettered access to ideas is relatively new on the United States timeline. The name of this group is, unironically, MomsforLiberty. And in case you're wondering, they have been largely successful in their attempts to keep kids away from scary concepts such as American's actual history and the fact that not everybody is straight.

Operating under the guise of advocating for parental rights, what they're really saying is they want to be able to be part of a society while at the same time not being in any way responsible to that society. It should come as no surprise that these privileged stay-at-homes (mostly) want to have their proverbial cake and eat it, too. They are, after all, used to getting their own way because of who they are. I know, I know. I'm indulging in supposed "identity politics" or whatever rightwing catchphrase is the hip one these days, but facts are still facts no matter how they are labeled.

Like their counterparts in other, similar movements, they proceed from a false premise (See image to the left). The idea that schools, libraries and society at large are somehow attempting to "co-parent" their precious kids is absurd and small-minded. The role of these entities is to provide access to materials to a broad demographic and, if there is teaching occurring, it is for the betterment of the society as a whole. If you don't agree with making your child a well-rounded citizen, homeschool them and keep them in your bubble.

That's not good enough for MomsforLiberty though. Their mission is to wash across the country and effect change in their wake. They see themselves as warriors in the cause of childhood purity and, frankly, they have just enough actual precedent to make themselves seem credible to the misinformed. That's how these groups with their dubious origins become forces to be reckoned with. And make no mistake, they are indeed that.

There is a reason glad-handing opportunists such as Ron DeSantis are so cozy with them. They are a large voting bloc and they vote for anybody who parrots their views. Florida has been their most successful battleground so far but they have chapters in nearly every state. And if the rumors are true and this organization actually requires loyalty oaths and photos of members, we are looking at a totalitarian attempt at policing ideas that will not end with school libraries.

For a list of MomsforLiberty's "accomplishments," click here

My Letter to Governor Whitmer

 Below is a copy of the letter I sent Michigan Governor Whitmer regarding her abrupt about-face in light of a pandemic that has actually gotten worse since last year:

Governor Whitmer, With all due respect, I feel that you have abandoned your constituency. Last year, when the pandemic was new and you sided with logic and reason, your decisions were sound and your unwavering support of mitigation measures was an inspiration to those of us dealing with the science deniers and gun-totin' extremists. However, since your ability to effectively order lockdowns was taken away by an opportunistic Republican legislature, you have slowly begun acting as if the pandemic has become little more than a minor inconvenience. Gone are the briefings, the recommendations to MDHHS and, frankly, any real acknowledgement of what you so fervently supported in 2020. It is as if you were replaced by an imposter. All I see now is your smiling face in photo op after photo op, dancing amidst the flames of reality. Michigan is worse off now than it was last year. Your tone deaf refrain about vaccinations is meaningless when we already know the latest variant isn't halted by the vaccine. And for those of us who have several months to go before we qualify for a booster, your flippant attitude feels like a betrayal. There are only two things that have changed since last year, and anyone with the ability to observe can see them both. One, Donald Trump is no longer in office. While this is a positive change and President Biden is indeed taking the pandemic seriously, he is also facing a resistant Republican effort to curtail his intentions. Second, you are facing reelection. In fact, you have been in reelection mode since the end of 2020. I won't speculate on your motivations because that would be arrogant, but I doubt my suspicions are too far off the mark. Governor, we need you more this year than last. People are dying in greater numbers and hospitals are full. Please don't try to spin these deaths as only the unvaccinated because that is a patently false claim. My wife's vital surgery was rescheduled because of this latest variant. She was one of your most ardent supporters but now I fear you are close to losing both of us as well as many others who once stood behind "That Woman From Michigan."

Thank you for your time~

HOLY Umm...Something!

There is perhaps no greater validation of one's creative efforts than when someone who should find the work offensive or discomforting instead finds it insightful and useful. Such was the case for Christopher's Moore's brilliant "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal" when he let a friend who was also a Catholic priest read the novel prior to publication. And now, or more accurately two years ago, such is the case with my short story, "Ultimate Messiah Smackdown" which made its second and more prominent appearance in the "Alternative Theologies" anthology published in 2018.

The collection has received mostly positive reviews and even engendered a bizarre controversy where some zealot decided to steal all copies of the book from the publisher when he left his table unattended at a convention. If that doesn't make you want to read it, you are probably not my kind of person.

I don't know if it made one specific reviewer want to read it or not, but I happened upon her review on Goodreads and was quite simply blown away. The reviewer in this instance is a Christian pastor named Mindi Welton-Mitchell. As I wrote earlier, based on stereotyping and presumptiveness, two things at which we Amuricans excel, she should have found my story of Corporate Jesus vs. Actual Jesus offensive. This becomes even more of a supposed certainty when one looks her up and discovers she is a pastor at a *GASP* Baptist church!

Well, this may come as a surprise to many of you, but my grandmother was a member of the Baptist church for approximately seventy of her one-hundred years, Republican Jesus bless her soul. She taught Sunday school for decades and I often attended those classes, hence my apparently unusual; knowledge of the workings of American Protestantism. Many Evangelicals have tried to school me on the Bible, having been taught that "unbelievers" don't know anything about the faith. It hasn't gone well for them. My grandmother taught me too well. Reverend Welton-Mitchell most likely falls into the category where one would have found my grandmother. Devout, sincere, able to laugh at herself within reason, and more interested in growing than in remaining in place.

(I'm kidding about the Republican Jesus part, of course. My grandmother would have severed her own limbs before she voted Republican. She was proof that faith-based individuals are not all Right Wing.)

At least, that's what I got from her review of the anthology and my story in particular. Below is the portion regarding "Ultimate Messiah Smackdown":

Perhaps my favorite entry was Ultimate Messiah Smackdown. Which Jesus do we really follow, the smiling white guy in a suit who preaches the prosperity gospel and the religion of nationalism, or the man who challenges us to think and act differently (and might smell bad)? Or which Buddha, for that matter? I’m already planning on using this story as a sermon illustration.

It would have been enough for her to offer a positive, thoughtful review as a Christian minister, but for her to also mention using my story as part of a sermon is nothing short of  astounding. I am honored and a little humbled and a little thirsty, but I think that last thing is solvable with water. I have no idea if the intended sermon took place, but I am going to ask her because sometimes, rarely but sometimes, a review can touch an author as much as our stories touch the reviewers.


Read the entire review here.