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Boston Globe

In Roger Williams' Rhode Island, banning books is a departure from our heritage

Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up There are a lot of reasons to object to this alarming trend. Advertisement You might note that the You might object because such bans are an affront to American ideas. The founding fathers – Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison – were avid readers and writers who valued the free exchange of ideas. And subsequent presidents warned against censorship. During the height of McCarthyism, President Dwight Eisenhower – a Republican – Advertisement You might object because you know that book bans can be a harbinger of worse things to come. After his Holocaust-focused graphic novels 'Maus " were banned by a school district in Tennessee, the author Art Spiegelman And even if you're not persuaded by any of these arguments, you might be offended by more local reasons. Rhode Island was founded by a guy – Roger Williams – who was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for Our state also has a rich history of literacy and education. Newport is home to America's oldest continuous lending library, the It is for all of these reasons – from the hyperlocal to the international – that I support the 'Freedom to Read' bills recently introduced in the Rhode Island Advertisement To be clear, the bills do not mandate that students must read material that they or their parents find objectionable. They simply ensure that one parent's discomfort does not diminish the access of an entire community. Now, as a published author, you might think that I've got a conflict of interest on this issue. And, of course, I don't want my book to be banned. Contrary to what some folks believe, book bans But I'm a straight white guy, who wrote a book – a By opposing book bans in my backyard, I'm speaking up to protect free expression, not my own bottom line. I am defending the local libraries I love, and the civic-minded folks who work there. I am affirming the Rhode Island Library Association's Advertisement Rhode Islanders would never agree to change our state motto from 'Hope' to 'Fear.' Nor would we ever rename the statue atop the state house as the 'Semi-Independent Man.' And yet efforts to pull books from local shelves move us in this direction. Let's pass the 'Freedom to Read' bills and leave book bans in the past where they belong. Philip Eil is a freelance journalist and author based in Providence, his hometown. He is a member of the Rhode Island Chapter of Authors Against Book Bans.