BOOK BURNING DOESN'T HAPPEN in a CIVILIZED, WESTERN SOCIETY!!!!
Throughout my life, I've loved being inside of a library. Grabbing a handful of books, finding a nook (sometimes without the benefit of a chair and just sitting cross-legged on the floor), and browsing through them to see which ones I wanted to borrow.
As time progressed and I became an adult and books became exceedingly graphic (depicting rapes, murders, explicit sex, and profanity - not to mention dangerous ideologies) I started debating FOR some type of censorship. Similar to the type you get when you go to a movie and it has a rating (PG-13) or even MORE clearly when you buy something at a grocery store and it has a list of ingredients on the package.
At the same time, I bought a book by Stephen Fry who I had seen on British TV and in the PBS TV series "Masterpiece Theatre" in the "Jeeves and Wooster" series with Hugh Laurie which is fabulous depiction of the books by PG Wodehouse. What I didn't know at the time is that Mr. Fry is a hardcore homosexual with an equally hardcore political agenda to promote homosexuality. I was quickly educated about that upon reading his book which explicitly described homosexual encounter after homosexual encounter.
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| Stephen Fry and his current "husband" |
I tried to return my book to the store to get my money back because there was absolutely nothing on the cover that even remotely hinted at its content. No dice. (If it was these days I would use the tactic of getting the store manager to read the book OUT LOUD so the other customers could hear and see how many people walk out, how proud he truly is of the book's content, and how quickly he gets arrested for "creating a disturbance" and/or "public lewdness". But I digress.)
The public libraries have always taken a firm stance against censorship in ANY form, much to my frustration and chagrin throughout the years. BUT now times are very different.
I switched over to getting my library books in an ebook format BEFORE COVID-19 because I became disabled and it was becoming increasingly difficult to physically get to a library. I've enjoyed making many "Purchase Suggestions" online and watching the Edmonton Public Library's catalog of ebooks increase exponentially. I do so LOVE books and the idea that I can borrow them for FREE is still a wonder to me ever since I got my first, very own library card for the Coquitlam Public Library in BC at the age of twelve years old in 1978. (Oops! Outed my age on the internet again. 🙊)
Fast forward to NOW! ⏩
I decided it was time to start RE-reading some books I used to own in a hardcopy (paper) format but don't have anymore. Since things are boiling pretty heavy in the middle east I thought it was time to give the autobiography of Moshe Dayan, "Story of My Life" (former Israeli Defense Minister) another read. Oops. It doesn't exist in an ebook/audio format anywhere in the Edmonton Public Library's database or its world online affiliates.
Okay. Let's try for Golda Meir's autobiography (former Israeli - and first woman - Prime Minister of Israel). Nope. Not in ebook or audio format. These are not just important people in Israel's history, these two are history-makers. MAJOR historical figures who changed and impacted the entire world. Do you know who they are and the basics of what they did?
That got my "spidey senses tingling" and I went for a hunt through the Edmonton Public Library's ebook/audio book database. First, I searched for anything to do with the Jewish people, Israel's history or Hitler's agenda and the Holocaust. Then I started looking for classic Christian books and Christian reference books. Then I started searching for classic books that merely were opposed to the current narrative. (ie. Anything against Marxist/Communist/Totalitarian regimes.)
What I discovered is that ebooks that used to be available are now gone. Or things that used to have many copies, like "Watership Down", "Animal Farm", "1984", " Brave New World", "Fahrenheit 451", only have one or two copies available and HUGE waiting lists MONTHS long. These are EBOOKS and AUDIOBOOKS. It's not like they are taking a massive amount of shelf space.
Plus, they are still listed as if they are available. It's only when you try to borrow them that you get the message, "This title is no longer available" message.
So, I pose the question: Is this a covert form of "book burning"?
Case in point. The most popular book on the planet right now in regards to this topic is, "Burning the Books: a History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge" by Richard Ovenden. Do you think I can find an ebook copy of this at the EPL? Nope. Not to mention the fact that my ability to make "Purchase Suggestions" is now limited to only five books per month. And thanks to an "upgrade" at the EPL my list of "previously read titles" has been wiped out!
I've stated the facts, now it's for you to use your powers of reason to draw your own conclusions. (Don't worry. You can still think if you put a little effort into it.)
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus us tells us to be both "salt" and "light" to the world. That could be the entire world, your neighborhood or just among your friends and family members. Whatever realm of influence you have YOU can make a difference by standing up for the truth. SALT is used to preserve good food, make things tasty and keep us Canadians from getting injured on all this massive amounts of ice.
LIGHT that is not hidden can make the way clear for many people. A huge blessing for anybody stumbling around in the darkness, scared, alone and looking for any point of reference.
Look around your life, don't be afraid to speak up to make a difference and "let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
Also, I want to remind you of something I have stated a myriad of times. "WE VOTE WITH OUR MONEY!"
The Entertainment Industry (which I refer to as "The Biz") watches what makes the most money and "rinses and repeats" giving us more and more of the same. I have seen people pay to read books and watch on a screen things that would make them FLIP OUT if they were literally happening in their home. And keep in mind it's not only Hollywood watching. The Lord knows exactly what you are doing too. Time to stop being a hypocrite, and get your act together. One of the worst and BEST things about being human is that we are pliable and able to change. Just as quickly as we can make a BAD habit, we can make a GOOD habit simply by doing something over just THREE or FOUR times!
ONCE AGAIN I am going to reiterate the need for you to get a hardcopy-PAPER version of the Bible. A Bible app is not enough. At some point they will all be deleted AND they will be used to hunt you down, just as the same tactics are used to find "societal dissidents" which is currently happening in other parts of the world. (ie. Taliban Execution Squads in Afghanistan). But HEAR THIS, ultimately the Word of God cannot be stopped! Even if it is merely hidden in your hearts.
When I was in the hospital for weeks on end in 2019 (PRE COVID) and paralyzed from the neck down, I longed to hear the Word of God again. I requested that the Chaplain Department would send a Protestant Minister to visit me. Nope.
"A Catholic Priest?" Nope.
"Is there anybody willing to read to me from the Bible?" Nope.
"Is there anybody who needs to earn some extra money? I will pay an hourly wage to have anybody read the Bible to me." Nope.
Nobody came. But I had been reading the Bible for forty years and the Holy Spirit tweaked my memory and I was able to remember large portions of it. Verses and Bible stories I didn't even know I knew. It systematically had been previously "downloaded" into my brain and heart through all the years to come back and see me through the those dark days of wondering if I would ever be able to move again.
The days ahead are only going to get darker and more intense. I wish it wasn't going to be that way but I have made a promise to only tell you the truth. I am trying to prepare you just like a drill sargeant would prepare his troops to go into battle.
You need to start taking the Bible seriously. Read it every day and go to Jesus directly and talk to Him and listen to Him. I am telling you something that at one point in my life I didn't know ... He is not far away, out-yonder, beyond the heavens, unconcerned about you. He created you. You matter deeply to Him. So call on the name of Jesus that you might be saved. And open His book, the Bible, so that you might be equipped and encouraged for WHATEVER the future holds.
Truth, with Love,
Always, Laura-Lee
"But what does it say? 'The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,' that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." (Romans 10:8-10)
"MY LIFE" by Golda Meir from Thriftbooks
"STORY OF MY LIFE" by Moshe Dayan at Thriftbooks
LINK The Bible and the Biz ( MY blog about Entertainment from a Biblical Perspective)
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LINK Dominion Comfort (MY blog about Bible Prophecy/World Events)
UPDATE: March 16, 2022. Another stop online at the Edmonton Public Library searching for Christian Classics produces more (or should I say "less") results.
(Do you know what is happening at YOUR public library?)
Only 2 ebook copies and 12 people waiting.
NO ebook or audio version. Just ONE paper copy. Yikes!
