JOHN C MORGAN , Reading Eagle ; Everyday ethics: In praise of banned books
Works of literature that make people nervous are often the best ones to read.
"Great literature not only describes life but often shines a light on injustices. I can’t read Orwell’s “1984” without seeing how the story applies to us today in America, for example. From “The Catcher in the Rye” I can gain insight into what it feels like to be a young person in a culture that doesn’t acknowledge the particular state of feeling like an outsider.
Absolute freedom can lead to anarchy. Absolute control can lead to tyranny of the few over the many. Think of Russian state television as an example of what happens with complete control, and the new version of Twitter as what happens when little control is exercised. Somewhere in between these two extremes must be a reasoned solution that protects freedom of expression as well as community values that is legally and morally appropriate."
