Rainy Day and Censorship

Rainy Day finds the very idea of Censorship abhorrent. When Rainy Day was in the WAC, there was an old actor (she isn't sure, now, which one, and doesn't want to sully the name of the wrong actor by misstating his name) who became the 'official censor of movies' shown to the troops. The WAC no longer exists and for those of you too young to know, it stood for Women's Army Corps. Rainy Day served her time during the Viet Nam whatever-it-was. (Today, we spell it Vietnam and call it a war, then we spelled it Viet Nam and called it Hell.)

Anyhow, Old Actor thought our brave boys in the midst of fighting should be given delightful, uplifting movies, such as Cinderella and The Sound of Music. No joke! He wanted them to come in off the field, and relax with happy make believe of the non-smoking kind. It didn't happen and he was quietly and thankfully retired from his position.

Now and then, some school wants to censor books the children have access to in their libraries. Well, to a degree, Rainy Day can understand that. She can see why the likes of Hustler Magazine probably should not grace the shelving of a school library. She does not understand why Mark Twain's books are disallowed. They should be read by all, and discussed in the classroom. What is different about then and now? Good topics for great discussions abound in his books.

Books that could be Banned in Boston

Rainy Day can even understand why some books are Banned in Boston. Frankly, she would give just darn near anything if her books were Banned in Boston, as that would guarantee Best Seller status over night!

Rainy Day believes parents, and parents alone, should act as primary censors for their Little Darlings. She also believes parents should not forbid the reading of any particular book outright (unless they want Little Darling to read it immediately) but should explain why they would appreciate it if Little Darling did not read the book until s/he reaches adulthood.

Books that could be banned for violence, etc.

Rainy Day believes Houses of Religion should be able to control the books in their libraries, but not the books in your libraries.

And, remember, Gentle Readers, Rainy Day wore a military uniform for 9 years, 12 months, and 23 days. Why is that important? It is important because for that length of time she put her life on the line every time she raised her right hand and took The Oath. She swore to uphold the Constitution, with her life if need me, and a part of that upholding covered your right to freedom of speech, whether spoken or written. While Rainy Day may not have approved then, nor approves now, of everything that is written, she would and will die to defend the author's right to write it, the publisher's right to publish it, and the reader's right to read it.

Books that could be banned, but not for violence

Rainy Day certainly does not believe the Money Lenders, i.e., Banks have any right to control what books the Publisher publishes, the Bookseller sells, or You buy. And that is what they are trying to do. The Banks that back PayPal want PayPal to refuse to accept transactions where a reader wants to buy a book The Bank thinks should not be allowed into the hands of said reader. They wish to ban any book that contains violence, incest, rape, murder, etc. Rainy Day asks you, what is a good novel if not a story of our Hero overcoming one or all of the aforementioned obstacles? Rainy Day also points out that, as demanded by The Money Lenders, the Holy Bible and the Qu'ran would either have to be banned, or large portions thereof excised!

Rainy Day thanks readers, writers, and publishers everywhere who quickly got online and wrote or signed petitions, or called their Congressperson to stop this nonsense before it became real. Smashwords.com and other companies targeted, say the Houses of Money have backed off. Rainy Day wonders for how long?

Rainy Day says we all have the power of censorship within our grasp. We don't like the TV shows we watch? Change channels. We don't like books about (put your topic here______), don't buy them. As adults we can, do, and should accept responsibility to censor our Little Darlings and ourselves. We do not need a group of men telling us what books we may or may not read, what movies we may or may not see, what restaurants we may or may not visit, what clothes we may or may not purchase, et cetera, et cetera and so forth ad nauseum, ad infinitum!

So, Rainy Day asks each and every one of you, dearest of Gentle Readers, the next time you see an article on Censorship, read it, take it seriously, and then take appropriate action against it.

For another, and more in depth, discussion on censorship, read the March 3 entry by Dixiane Hallaj.