Only On The Walters Post

These are my own thoughts from what I’ve seen and lived through. I’m sharing them to spark some thinking and honest conversation, not because I have all the answers.

You know, when we remove books from schools or libraries….

Well, here is how I see it: Books, and the history they hold, should not be destroyed or hidden from readers. The thing is, what was written years ago carries value, no matter the language used. or how people were portrayed at the time.

Yes, some words and ideas from the past do not match today’s thinking. That is understandable. However, those books reflect the way things were. They teach us about times gone by and help us see how far we have come. Erasing them because they no longer fit modern views is both wrong and short-sighted. Bottom line is, we lose lessons from the past if we pretend it never happened.

Books such as Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and those written by Laura Ingalls Wilder showed life as the authors witnessed it. There is nothing wrong with keeping these books in our libraries, in fact, it is important that we do.

I also believe that many who push to remove these works are not thinking clearly about what they are doing. Some may be trying to draw attention to themselves rather than serve the greater good.

As someone who has written and published short stories for over 30 years, I can tell you this. Words matter. History matters. Books matter. And if we begin erasing them, we risk losing understanding, insight, and the truth of how life once was.

Until the next time: Keep Your Minds Open & Your Stories Alive. GW