When I was in High School, I remember the head of the English Department visiting my class and telling the students that we should not read any books by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. “His books are bad and will corrupt your mind,” she warned. Apparently, Vonnegut’s books had been housed in the school library and some zealous parent had objected to them, forcing their removal.
My response, of course, was to do what I thought any normal 16-year-old should do; I went home and told my parents that Vonnegut’s books were highly recommended by my English teacher, and could we please go to the bookstore so I could buy them. Mrs. Hurl was right: Vonnegut did corrupt my mind. In a good way. His novels showed me how to see the world through a different lens, and Slaughterhouse Five is still one of my all-time favorite books, even today.
Except for child pornography, I stand against censorship of any kind. I believe that if someone doesn’t want you to see, read, or listen to something, that’s all the more reason to explore it. If it’s not to my taste, I can always opt out. But I don’t have the right to tell others not to see, read, or listen to it.
As a writer living in these polarized political times of cancel culture (or “consequence culture,” as it’s now called), I am especially disturbed by efforts of both the radical right and the radical left to dictate to me what I can write or say. As a college professor, I am fortunate to be protected by the concept of academic freedom, which allows me to explore whatever ideas I choose in my writing. As a writer of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, I’m sure some of my ideas aren’t appreciated by everyone, and I’m ok with that. Read someone else, if that’s your thing. But don’t tell me what to read or write.
My friends on the left tell me I should boycott Chick-Fila because their owner is ultraconservative and contributes money to causes they don’t approve of. I happen to enjoy their food, so I eat there whenever I choose. These friends also say I should boycott Amazon, because they are fast becoming a monopoly and allegedly mistreat their employees. Amazon carries my books, and the books of other writers whom the “Big Five” publishing houses won’t even look at (yet they happily publish a gossip by Prince Harry, and the hackneyed “poetry” of Matthew McConeghy, a poser if there ever was one). So I shop Amazon. It has the kind of books I enjoy reading.
My friends on the right (yes, I have friends from both “houses”) tell me I shouldn’t read Stephen King because of his liberal beliefs. However, I believe King is one of the most talented writers of my generation (along with Vonnegut, of course), and I not only read everything he writes, but have published three book-length studies of his work. My friends on the right also tell me not to watch South Park because it is sacrilegious and makes fun of the President. I watch it anyway because I adore satire, and, hey, people in the public eye should be able to take a joke.
I’m not supposed to drink Bud Lite because it had a trans spokesperson (I don’t, because I prefer Sam Adams) or read the Harry Potter books because J.K. Rowling made comments about trans people that aggravated that community (I read the first Harry Potter book years ago, decided it wasn’t my cup of tea, and haven’t read another one since, but not because of the author’s politics). I had no idea who Charlie Kirk was until he was shot, and his blog doesn’t appeal to me, and I watched Jimmy Kimmel once or twice and didn’t find him funny. I don’t waste my time with either of them, but if you do, that’s up to you.
The bottom line: I’m very worried about where our society is going. I am neither left or right, really, but dwell in the center (as do most Americans, I think). But if we can’t talk to each other, can’t listen to both sides of an argument, can’t read things that are “dangerous,” then what have we become? The First Amendment comes first for a reason: the Founding Fathers believed in freedom of religion (or lack of one) freedom of expression, and freedom of the press. If we lose that, we might as well all march like lemmings in lockstep behind Vladimir Putin until we hurl ourselves over the cliff.
James Arthur Anderson is Professor Emeritus at Johnson & Wales University, where he taught English for 37 years before retiring and relocating to Georgia. He is currently a part-time instructor at Georgia Southern University’s East Georgia State College Campus in Statesboro. Dr. Anderson is the author of fifteen books. His latest novel, The Scrolls of Ramose, has just been published by Nightmare Press.
