This week bibliophiles around the world celebrate Banned Books Week and read their “controversial” books with pride.
And as it also happens to be Monday, a day for motivation, I can think of nothing more motivating than the strength of the human spirit. To me, that’s exactly what banned books represent.
It’s never easy to stare down the worst parts of ou
r nature and few mediums throughout history have forced us to do so like the written word. The books that inspire outrage generally also inspire change.
Whether it’s the classics that endured the initial outrage to change hea
rts and minds (and likely continue to do so)…
…or today’s new works that continue to push us beyond our comfort zones here and now.
As long as there have been humans there have been humans that are afraid of the new and different. Luck for us, there have also been humans willing to push those boundaries.
So this Banned Books Week, I hope we’ll all think outside of our own book boxes, there’s a lot more to explore.
…bi-daily smile…
Since it’s also National Comic Book Day, here’s a bit of motivation from the Tony Award-winning musical, “Fun Home,” inspired by the 2006 graphic novel, which has been deemed “controversial” by some…