Speakout 12-30

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Dumber than a dog

A dog's drinking water must be at least 2 inches deep for it to be able to get an adequate amount of liquid. They cannot get enough liquid by licking ice or lapping up a few drops in a puddle. It's stupid for anybody to think so. As far as barking goes, how else do you expect a dog to communicate with you? I swear, I think humans are dumber than dogs by a long shot.

Banned library books

Is anyone else troubled by the "banned books" policies used by some, which have spilled over into Internet policies used by individual libraries? The wide range of library Internet policies allows me to update my academic Website at one library in Southeast Missouri to a library where the entire site is blocked. According to the Online Computer Library Center, the No. 1 banned book is the Holy Bible followed by Huckleberry Finn, Don Quixote, Koran and in fifth position, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. While a few libraries use the American Library Association's (ALA) Library Bill of Rights in Cyberspace, most like to make their own book (or Website) banning policies. A quick check of library Internet usage policies will show you a range from wise to ridiculous. Prove this for yourself. Take a field trip to the libraries in Scott, Mississippi, New Madrid and Stoddard County library districts, schools and colleges, and compare the Internet usage policies. What is your opinion of each usage policy? Reading, whether it is newspapers, books or other material is vital for an educated public. The changing technological and opinion environment seem to give our public libraries one of two reasonable choices. In my opinion, libraries can use the A.L.A. Bill of Rights in Cyberspace as a guide, or at least a starting point for any Internet policies. The second choice could be the one used after 1933 in Germany book-burning events to light up the night. Are we heading back to that time period?

No tolerance

Our coins bear the words 'In God We Trust'. We take the oath of office asking His help in keeping that oath. And we proclaim that we are a nation under God when we pledge allegiance to the flag. But we can't mention His name in a public school or even sing religious hymns that are nondenominational. Christmas can be celebrated in the school room with pine trees, tinsel and reindeer, but there must be no mention of the man whose birthday is being celebrated. One wonders how a teacher would answer if a student asked why it was called Christmas? The whole point of the liberal revolution that rose up in the 1960's did so under the guise of freeing us from the establishment! Freeing us from the chains of somebody else's dogma! But now those liberal minded people are working 24/7 to impose on others their secularized religion disguising it behind innocuous labels like diversity training, non-discrimination, separation of church and state, respect for difference, and they disguise their lack of tolerance for displays of Christianity with the label religious tolerance. Beam me up already!