Reading is Power!....and Offensive?

It's been a long time folks, sorry I haven't been posting. I traveled around a bit and then got caught up in a nasty cold for a few days. It's is taking it's sweet time leaving my system though....

At any rate, I found the motivation to blog about something that is near and dear to my family: Banned Books (against it, not for the banning). I don't want to toot a horn to my family, but we are pretty active lifelong learners. One of the touchy subjects among us is banning/burning books for whatever reasons people choose is their logical decision.

To celebrate banned books, we in the U.S. have a week dedicated, this year it's November 25th-Oct 2nd.

One of the big moving themes in my life the past few months in the strong importance we still place on reading.

• With the growing technology, magazines subscriptions are still growing in households
• Library memberships are rising with the lowering of the economy and people are choosing to borrow then buy books/movies and we can see a more fluid movement of idea exchange.
• Some of my friends are rubbing their Kindles in my face going "neaner- neaner- neaner!"
• As a substitute teacher and a family that works in schools, I am aware of the importance of testing reading skills among children.
• Hard copies of the newspaper may be declining, but e-papers are on the rise
• Blog readers and writers are growing everyday, reading and sharing
• I feel out of place among my colleagues at school and I felt the urge to read up on various topics to keep up with the changing discoveries and theories
• much more....

Religious, Philosophical, or Political: the three things you do not talk about at the dinner table in case you may offend someone. This censorship of ourselves has stretched and grown opinions and forced itself into other peoples lives without them even realizing. Take a look at the links to see if your favorite has made the list.

Yahoo's List of Uncomommonly known banned books
List of Banned Books A-I, with link to J-Z

The point of this blog isn't to move and shake you, to frustrate or enrage you. I just wanted you to recognize dear readers that you to already are fighting the censorship committees and easily offended people's of this world.

By reading: blogs, papers, transcripts, books, plays, novels, sermons, stories, literotica, magazines, encyclopedias, manuscripts, wills, westerns, testaments, confessions, spiritual texts, contracts, decrees, speeches, e-books, e-zines, sonnets, references, fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, biographies, auto-biographies, essays, history, love letters, memos, e-mails, and even "Big John's Bathroom Readers" you are gaining ideas and information that you didn't know before.

However offensive something may be, there is no experience that should be censored from the world. Life happens and we can learn from others. We can become life long learners as long as there is no one deciding what is best for us.

Let people decide for themselves what is offensive.

And to visit the old rebuttal: If you don't like it, don't look at it/read it/eat it....