Reading in the Park OR Be A Tolerant Person Because the World is Full of Different People and You Don't Know Who You Are Talking To
One day I was sitting under a tree in the park reading when a shadow fell across the page.
Annoyed that my reading was being disturbed, I placed a bookmark in my book, closed it and looked up. There was a woman standing over me with a scowl on her face, hands on her hips, and foot just-a-tapping. Before I could say a word, she says to me,
"You know, you really should burn that book!"
I looked up at her, then down at my book, completely dumbfounded that anyone should even suggest burning a book much less the John Steinbeck I was reading. When I looked at her again I realized two things:
- she had totally misread the look on my face, and
- this was a teaching opportunity I could not pass up.
(What I really wanted to do was curse this woman and her stupidity, but I think what I actually did was much better.)
I grabbed a spare blanket and invited her to sit with me.
Putting my book away I said,
"If you think this book is bad you should check out this one."
I pulled out another paperback book, this one covered in brown paper least I should offend anyone while reading it. She was intrigued and curious as I explained that this book contained all sorts of stuff far worse than anything Steinbeck ever wrote. I opened the book, explaining that it was an anthology (I even had to explain what an anthology was!) and began to summarize different stories in it.
I told her the story of a king who used a witch's grimoire to call demons to help him build a temple (witchcraft); of a father who, rather than giving up two men to be raped and tortured by an out of control mob offered his daughters instead (homosexuality); and of some of the most lewd, crude, lascivious, poetry I have ever read (pornography).
It was at this point that the woman snatched the book from my hands, and upon seeing what I was reading from, slammed the book closed, threw it in my face and stomped off. As she marched away I yelled after her,
"Perhaps next time you want to burn books you'll start with this one!"
Unbeknownst to me we had had an audience throughout this whole encounter! The couple who had been sitting next to us could no longer contain their curiosity and wanted to know what book I had been reading from. I smiled and gave them the book. They opened it, smiled, began to giggle, and handed the book back, saying,
"That was totally awesome!"
The book I had been reading from, the book that contained witchcraft, homosexuality, and pornography was The Holy Bible.
-King Solomon building his temple with its accessories (witchcraft),
-Lot offering his daughters trying to protect angles (homosexuality),
-and poetry Solomon wrote to Bathsheba (pornography).
I-like you-wear many hats. I am many things: person, woman, mother, student, teacher, and minister.
But mostly I am a bibliophile, which for me means I will burn a human being long before I will ever consider burning a book (figuratively speaking!). Where books are concerned I firmly believe that one man's trash is another man's treasure. Just because I don't like a book does not give me the right to deny said book to you.
As a teacher It is my job to provide information to my students; discuss pros and cons then leave it to them to decide. In this particular case I wish I had reminded this woman what Jesus said,
"Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's, give unto God what is God's";
A clear separation of church and state. She only wanted Christian books written by Christian authors allowed in public schools. That kind of curriculum is ok for religious schools but NOT for public ones. If she and her peers did not like some of the books on their kids' reading lists then they should have sat down with the teachers and reached a compromise. There are countless books out there to chose from without burning any of them.
Moral of the story: find out who you are talking to before you open your mouth and remember that you are merely one person in a world full of billions. Not everyone believes as you do. Be tolerant and inclusive so that we all retain the freedom to do as we will without hurting ourselves or others.
