The recent news of efforts to ban certain books about race and controversial subjects has been disappointing and reminiscent of past attempts to censor what we read. Today when I was running errands in Dahlonega, I was listening to an interview on my truck radio with authors and others about the issue which got me thinking about the 1953 dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury.
I remember seeing the film adaptation of the book in the sixties and it always struck me as being too close to reality to dismiss as simple fantasy. There was a real message there. I specifically remember the scene when the firetruck representing the malevolent authorities showed up to confiscate people’s books and burn them in a huge bonfire. In opposition, people memorized entire works of literature so they would not be lost to mankind.
Significantly, Bradbury’s work came out during the McCarthy era when truth was under siege and there were demagogic personal attacks on the patriotism of political adversaries. The book was also a reaction to the growing mass media which the author believed helped reduce interest in reading literature.
As I was driving around, I passed a parked truck with the words “F__ Biden and F__ You for Voting for Him” emblazoned in large white letters on the rear window. Somehow, banning books and such vile political sentiment converged in my mind as evidence of just how sick things have become for all of us. This Is what we have managed to unleash these past several years. We are going backwards.