Check
out my press letter that is published in The New Paper today, Tues, 18th
July on page 9 on the pulping of books by NLB.
Sincerely,
Raymond Anthony Fernando
Following
complaints that three children’s books were not “pro-family”, the National
Library Board (NLB) has decided to pulp these books, which has angered some
people as reported in “Blood boils over book ban” (The New Paper, July 11).
There
is a heated debate going on in the mainstream media and on the Internet on this
decision, which some camps view as being hasty and discriminatory.
While
some people are not in favour of such books reaching out to the young minds,
others feel that people should have a choice of what they and their children
can read.
Perhaps
there can be some compromise so that both opinions can be given due fair
consideration. Otherwise, we will become
a divided society.
To
this end, I would suggest that where books are controversial in nature, NLB
could open an area in its libraries that allows for some flexibility.
A category, like “parental guidance is advised”, could have such books on
display.
With
this new feature, parents can first be advised to read the book; and when
bringing it back for their kids to read, should guide and educate them on the
values and morals which they deem fit.
We
should give more credit to parents who should be entrusted to advise their kids
on what is acceptable behaviour and what is not.
This
advisory message to parents could be similar to the ones shown on television
where parents have the option to guide and educate their kids while viewing
certain shows.
Let
us not forget that with the easy access of the Internet, children can be
exposed to a flood of information that includes pornography.
So
while parents are keenly observing what their children see on the computer,
they may not be aware that such undesirable material could make its way into the
handphones of children.
RAYMOND ANTHONY FERNANDO
No comments:
Post a Comment