[Keneldil the Polka-dot]

Well thrown Bill [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]. However, I think we are talking about different things, if I may wield the semantics stick a moment. I totally agree with comments concerning choosing proper material with respect to age, what is appropriate for school, etc. Earlier in the thread that was talked about as the difference between banning and limiting use. Bill advocates limiting use.

As others have already astutely described, I differentiate between banning and limiting use. There are hundreds of legitimate reasons to limit use.

Teach children to evaluate, to make judgments (between good and bad) = censuring, for that is exactly what censuring is.

Exposure to ideas that an individual may not agree with is part of the process of giving them the tools to evaluate, in my humble opinion. Am I saying you need to show children pornography to teach them that it is bad? No. I am saying you might want to let your child read Mein Kampf (when they can understand it) to help him/her understand how Hitler’s ideas were wrong.

Do we send our children to school so that school can do their thinking for them? No. We send our children to school to help them learn how to think for themselves. Maybe that means our children get exposed to ideas that we really don’t like. If parents are doing their jobs right, and if the school officials are doing their jobs right, then #1 they will be greater influences on the kid than any writing and #2 the child will be able to assess any idea and come to a good judgement on his/her own without us having to shelter them from it.

In general, the public is pretty much mindless. How can this be in a free society? It is a failure of the educational system, a lack of liberal arts in our high schools and colleges, political correctness, and rampant materialistic consumerism.

Is not censorship basically another way of telling people what to think? If you are not exposed to both sides of an issue how can you make a truly informed decision?

I guess to some school officials Tolkien’s works are hugely controversial. Even if it were only to end up having their children agree, I think those people should have the courage to allow their children to read Tolkien and decide for themselves. It is more a commentary on their failure to influence the children than it is on Tolkien that they are afraid of his work and won’t let it be a part of their literature programs.