A lesson for our children
It's no secret that Cuba's government is a repressive totalitarian dictatorship, but we shouldn't imitate it. That's why I'm glad the Miami-Dade School Board decided not to ban -- for now -- a children's book about Cuban life. A more appropriate action would be to actually buy more books about the subject, books offering a variety of viewpoints. That's what democracy and freedom are about -- true lessons for our kids.
posted by Ana Veciana-Suarez at 8:33 AM
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4 Comments:
Well, it's interesting that the vote turned out like it did...I am wondering how the vote would turn out if the book was about the Hollicost or black slavery -- which painted a cheerful and positive picture about either historical event.
I am not a book burner - but it is very offensive that the pain and suffering caused by the Castro dictatorship can be swept under the rug. Many lives have been lost - men, women, and children -- more than we will ever know.
But, our kids will read how nice it is for children in Cuba. I am not against the book - I AGAINST distorting history.
I think anonymous made some good points. I'm not crazy about banning books, it goes against our values and it usually ends up backfiring on those who do the banning.
On the other hand, the pain of those who had and continue to endure Castro's regime shouldn't be ignored. There's a very good and perfectly valid reason why some of those parents objected so strongly to the book being in the children's library. That's what's being forgotten in this whole story.
I have also wonder what the reaction would be if the book described happy children of Nazis in Germany or happy white children in apartheid-era South Africa.
First, I have to say how happy I was to find that children were reading and that their parents were involved enough to care WHAT they were reading.
Rather than trying to have the book banned, an active campaign from parents to present an opposing view to the book might yield more positive results. I hope now that they have made the public aware of this issue that they will take the opportunity to do so.
There are many books in circulation (and in libraries) that contain controversial content that some will find distorted, and others will not. This is what freedom of speech is all about. We have the freedom to read (or not) and decide for ourselves. It is when we try to force others to "think like me" that we start down the path towards totalitarianism.
Finally, I think that melodramatic statements/comparisons undermine the seriousness of the Cuban situation. There is no doubt that the Cuban struggle is a painful one, but I don't see that it can reasonably be compared to the Holocaust, slavery or the contemporary genocides taking place in several areas of the world. It CAN be compared to any number of horribly repressive modern dictatorships. And it may sound a little picky, but Apartheid was PRO-white/segregation.
If we start to downplay the significance and impact of the Cuban regime simply because its "numbers" don't match up to those of Nazi Germany, then we're in big trouble.
It's not about how many people have been killed or imprisoned, it's about the act and the inhumanity and how it's tragically affected real human lives. Statistics have a way of dehumanizing, but they also have a way of educating, which is sorely missing in the Cuba issue.
I think it's perfectly valid to mention tragedies such as the Holocaust or Apartheid alonside the atrocities of the Castro regime. Again, it's not about numbers, it's about facts. And the fact is, many people have been killed and/or suffered as a result of Castro's terrible acts. Those numbers don't have to even approach the number of people killed by the Nazis in order for a parallel to be drawn.
I wholeheartedly agree that opposing viewpoints and books should be made available as an alternative.
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