Let us all be honest, the recent move to replace Library Board Chairperson Dr. Erin Rehberg is the authoritarian tactic of book banning.  Book banning, a form of censorship, occurs when private individuals, government officials, or organizations remove books from public libraries, school reading lists, or bookstore shelves because they object to their content, ideas, or themes.  Currently, this tactic is the most widespread form of censorship in the United States, with children and young adult’s literature being the primary target. Advocates for banning a book or certain books fear that children will be swayed by its contents, which they regard as potentially dangerous. This group professes an unfounded fear that these publications will present ideas, raise questions, and incite critical inquiry among children that parents, political groups, or religious organizations are not ready to address or that they find inappropriate.  This issue of book banning based on objectionable content was addressed in 1982 by the Supreme Court with the case of Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico.  In the decision, the Court ruled 5-4 that public schools can bar books that are “pervasively vulgar” or not right for the curriculum, but they cannot remove books “simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books.”   Banning books or moving books to restrictive categories is a measure meant on restricting information and discouraging freedom of thought, censorship undermines one of the primary functions of education: teaching students how to think for themselves. Such actions endanger tolerance, free expression, and democracy.   The actions of Commissioner NeSmith along with Commissioners Hickey, Grady, and Vonier supporting his divisive motion reminds me Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451.”  “Fahrenheit 451” warns us about the future, it shows us the dangers of censorship and hiding the past, and yet people still choose to ignore the message.  I find the actions of the four Thomas County Commissioners to be unethical.  Actor and performer Paul Baverstock once said, “What they have to say is important! You might not agree with all of it, but you should still hear it and make up your own minds!” And he is right. Even if you disagree with what books have to say or what they contain, you should at least let your children and the next generation decide for themselves. If we do not learn from the past, we do not learn at all. That is why we know not to touch stoves; we did once and never did it again because we learned from the past. I would also like to ask those banning books or moving books to restrictive categories in the library this question.   When you start going through these books and removing them from the collection or moving them to the adult section, will you also consider the harmful impact of characters who are deceitful, hypocritical, self-righteous, condescending, and dishonest? 

-Harold W. Singletary