Today’s word from Wordsmith,org was comstockery, which means, I believe, “Overzealous censorship of material considered obscene”
but the really interesting part of this e-mail was the link to a wonderfully well-written letter from a librarian called James LaRue in the U.S. to a lady who objected to his library stocking a children’s book (Uncle Bobby’s Wedding) that features a gay marriage as part of the story line.
http://jaslarue.blogspot.com/2008/07/uncle-bobbys-wedding.html
The gentleman has written a polite, well-considered reply to explain why he thinks the book and others like it which speak of controversial subjects can and should be included in public library stocks.
To read something so well-reasoned, written in a reasonable way, is just such an inspiring, uplifting, pleasurable experience.
And two very insightful ideas that I found in the comments section were these (both from a comment by the librarian in response to another comment) –
“…and the beauty of childhood is not what they don’t know, but their eagerness and ability to learn, to make meaning….”
and this one, which should be obvious, but so often isn’t –
“The intent isn’t to steal innocence from anybody. It’s to help all of us make sense of a world that doesn’t, sometimes.”
An Indian Kitchen in France 