How appropriate that Jess found opportunity to comment on her views of the damned banning of books in modern society. Perhaps it was this that made me more attuned to the issue — or vice versa — but it seems the ugly head of book-banning has once again reared.

Case-in-point: Surrey Schools hosted a public debate yesterday — the flurry of which filled the evening news — on the ongoing problems associated with three children’s books that are being held to a candle regarding their theme and content. The public’s solution — and we all know that if there’s something that we don’t like we should just bury it in the sand and hope it is forgotten — is to ban (yes, BAN) these three books.

It’s 2003, people. This is Canada. This is not Cuba. This is not medieval Europe. This is not post-911 America.

Now, the content of these books — in my humble view — doesn’t particularly matter. I’m not writing here today to discuss my person views on whether something is right or wrong, up or down. In fact, I’m going to tell you what these books are about and leave it at that, because I know for a simple fact that half of the people who read this blog are on one side of the fence and about half would be on the other. I don’t intend on debating any of this — this is about censorship.

Flat out: censorship.

The books, bearing titles such as “Asha’s Mums” “One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads” and “Belinda’s Bouquet” are — plain and simple — about kids with homosexual parents.

Now don’t get me wrong: it’s not the actual content of these books that draws this issue into my humble spotlight. If these were books on such controvesial topics as international terrorism, bomb-making and explosive techniques (I bet that’s gonna get some hits from Google!) or even bearing the title “Mein Kampf” I would still be saying the same thing.

Banning books is wrong. Why? (and some of these rules are very general and I would not even apply to this particular case)

( 1 ) It is a shirking of responsibility and people who want to ban things are just lazy. Regardless of what people read, education and guidance should go hand and hand. If you don’t like what your children are reading, let them finish and then use it as an opportunity to explain your own twisted views of the world in that context. We all know that your sheltered life has provided you with a chance for insights that have escaped 10 billion people across four-thousand years of human history. Here’s you chance to share that.

( 2 ) Information is power. Banning books is about control. If someone wants to ban something, they have obviously read it and want to keep that information away from people who have not read it. Why would they do that? …to keep them naive…. to keep them from knowing something or having access to information that they already know or have access to. Watch out, you freaks. Someones out to get you.

( 3 ) Regardless of which way you are pushing an issue, knowledge is always the advantage. To paraphrase the ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu - “know thine enemy and victory will be forthcoming.” How can we affect change — regardless of our opinions of any subject (positive or negative, for or against) — if we hide ourselves and our children from the very material that best describes it. On the other hand, if we ban a book, the so-called “enemy” is unable to have that information. Again: all about power.

Welcome to the future. Please return your seats and traytables to their full, uplright and locked positions. The captain has now turned on the no-thinking sign, and will be flying us… well… we’ll get back to you on that one.