Books are dangerous. Think how much better the world would be today without the writings of Darwin, Nietzsche, John Maynard Keynes, Karl Marx, Freud or The Bible.
Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries (Human Events: Headquarters of the Conservative Underground)
Name of Deadly Flu Virus Causes Consternation (Reuters UK)
Among the giant fossils of my past,
Like some small nimble mouse between the ribs
Of a mastodon, I nibbled here and there
At this or that box, pulling through the gap,
In heats of terror, haste, victorious joy,
The first book first. And how I felt it beat
Under my pillow, in the morning’s dark,
An hour before the sun would let me read!
My books!
Poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh
Ah, what an interesting post to ponder, Seraphine! Words are indeed very powerful and we need to be aware of their impact!
I’m thinking, you know, if I can get swine flu from bacon, I’m still not going to give up bacon.
Words are powerful and sometimes we do a horrible job of keeping that in mind. That being said however, books are not harmful in and of themselves. Ideas should always be available. Even the really bad ones. If for no other reason than to see them and know the stupidity they represent. The only reason to be rid of books is to attempt to control knowledge and only allow what is “acceptable” to be read. A very wrong way to think. The Nazi’s were into that sort of censorship and we all know what they were like. The individual is the only one responsible for their actions. I don’t care what the excuse is. Your actions are your responsibility. No one can really force you to do anything. Even if the only alternative is death it is still your decision. So ideas can only be harmful if you as an individual take them up and act on them. That’s my belief anyway.
You are always right. The pork producers are not happy al all…
All talk infotainment gives me a headache. I’d rather read a book – any book.
Meanwhile, the pigs are getting screwed.
We do seem to become easily infected with words- take the fact you cannot get swine flu from eating pig meat yet some countries have already slaughtered 30,000 pigs.
Some think certain books are also dangerous whilst others would rate them as classics. Nonesuch as Nietzsche with his philosophical army of debaters. Having read what he said its hard not to conclude a lot of what has been attributed to him by summarizers is really gross exaggerations, misinterpretations and falsehoods. Best wishes
Brilliant.
Amazing one Sera! Books are very dangerous, thats why I love them!