Not Even Mein Kampf: Why Hateful Books Should Not Be Banned

[deborahjross]

My blog on banning hateful books, part of a series for Banned Books Week, is up on Book View Cafe:

Here's an excerpt, talking about Adolph Hitler's Mein Kampf and the virulently antisemitic hoax/forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion:

Lies gain authority when they are set down on paper. Lies increase in power even more when they are suppressed. They fester in the dark, hidden from the light of historical accuracy, logical analysis, critical thought, and dissenting opinions — not to mention compassion and common sense.

Do I wish the “Protocols” and Mein Kampf had never been written? Do I wish they would simply disappear from history? Do I believe that by banning them I can undo their harmfulness, past and future? Yes, yes, and no.

Quakers coined a wonderful phrase: “Speak truth to power” (American Friends Service Committee, 1955). I think this is our most powerful weapon against lies: speaking the truth. Not trying to make the books go away, but calling hatred and intolerance what they really are, exposing them, debating them, showing how they are harmful. Only then can lies be seen for what they are and thereby lose their power.

Comments

[otana.livejournal.com]

May I repost this in my own journal? It's excellent.

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Yes, certainly. Send them to the BVC blog for the complete essay. (and I'm glad you approve.)

[otana.livejournal.com]

I most definitely will!