Adam’s posted about some moron in America who wants to ban Fahrenheit 451 from his kid’s school. I’ll let you go over and read Adam’s post. Go on. Then come back and read on.

Back? Good.

Aside from Adam’s scathing and totally correct criticisms, there are two things I’d like to add. The Bible is also full of references to getting drunk, violence, “dirty talk” (if he means that talk about sex is dirty, there’s lots of it in the Bible… though why he should think sex is dirty is, well, a topic for a whole other, sad, discussion).

Has anyone suggested that perhaps the Bible should also be banned from schools?

Oh, probably.

The other thing I wanted to point out is that it’s really quite insane for anyone under the current Administration to be calling for more censorship. I mean, let’s take one post from Ritu and look at the administration with a clear eye: you can be arrested for criticizing government policy, and the same administration is busy in songs-and-dances which all seem to play the same — absolutely false — tune: “We didn’t know, oh yeah, we didn’t know!” Condi’s singing it (or, the Reagan variation of, I don’t recall). The GOP’s singing it. (But again, there’s lots of evidence that this is a lie.)

So if it’s so damned hard to actually get at the truth without full-blown censorship, what the hell are you doing trying to arm the government with yet one more tool for obfuscating their actions and covering up crimes?

Of course, freedom of the press is also a useful tool. Too much attention to how screwed up Iraq is? Hey, guys, it’s time to throw Foley to the sharks. But still, at least with news out there, we can pick through it and look for what’s important. Whatever my beefs with the American system, they do have that in their favour. In a lot of places, unfavored opinions can’t even be found in the media.

Still, giving up that unarguable good — giving any government extended rights of censorship — is just crazy.