I wasn't prepared to blog right now - after all, it is 4am and I was thinking more along the lines of something resembling a nice warm bed and, who knows, maybe sleep? But, as fate would have it, I just had to read a few more blogposts and, holy cow, take a look at this! A number of y'all know that I have been a children's book collector since way back and my favourites to get my hands on are books from the 1960's and earlier. Well, I don't know how I missed this atrocity but I am absolutely appalled that all the really good books for children are now hazardous to their health...or at least according to the government, that is.
I don't think I could possibly sum up the situation better than the poster of the indicated blog when he said:
"Whatever the future of new media may hold, ours will be a poorer world if we begin to lose (or “sequester” from children) the millions of books published before our own era. They serve as a path into history, literature, and imagination for kids everywhere. They link the generations by enabling parents to pass on the stories and discoveries in which they delighted as children. Their illustrations open up worlds far removed from what kids are likely to see on the video or TV screen. Could we really be on the verge of losing all of this? And if this is what government protection of our kids means, shouldn’t we be thinking instead about protecting our kids from the government?"
Thank you, Walter Olsen, and I do believe I need to add his blog, Overlawyered, to my never-ending reading list.
Also, I would like to thank Chris, author of the book-a-rama blog, for her post which drew my attention to this stupid, stupid law.
What's next, people? Are the book Nazis going to go from house to house, searching to see if we have "dangerous" books on our shelves? After all, I'm sure there are some fanatics out there who would certainly want to protect all those at-risk children from their irresponsible parents who refuse to see the potential health threat lurking in the deep, dark recesses of our bookcases. Sounds ludicrous to you? Of course it does, if you're a rational-minded person. But we shall see...
Personally, I'm wondering if it's time to start the old dumpster-diving routine at the libraries again.
I just want to see a video with Giuli or Mary laying comatose under an avalanche of books. Have solemn music playing. Get a very morose commentator.
ReplyDeleteI can't say I'm up for dumpster diving and, with your back, you probably aren't either, but still, this is ludicrous!