Vonnegut's Letter to the Man Who Burned V's Book

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by Requiem

...It is my opinion that when an idea or belief that contradicts another individual's preconceived notions, it is a natural reaction to oppose the proliferation of that view as it does not coincide with one's own...

I find this interesting. I think the natural reaction is to oppose what threatens you, not just different notions. The question is, what is threatening about Vonnegut's books? Maybe some are afraid that just the touch of an "evil" thought will corrupt them and steal their innocence. It seems to show a lack of faith in Man and God.

[Requiem]

I think the natural reaction is to oppose what threatens you, not just different notions.

That is exactly what I mean, the issue here is taking a perceived personal threat against your own morals or beliefs and forcing them onto others. The banning of books is just that. The person that does it sees it as a threat to some inherent belief and therefore makes the assumption that others are not capable of seeing the "evil" in said work, therefore they try to make the decision for others.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Seriously? People who burn books are not open to dialog. They've already made their minds up and certainly are not willing to listen to other opinions.

Yep, most people who burn books are trying to silence the opposition to what they believe in.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_book_burnings

[crich70]

Originally Posted by AlexBell

Thanks so much for the link, I really appreciate the chance to read the letter, and was moved by the marvellous book when I read it some years ago.

For what it is worth I have been a Christian for more than fifty years. This is not the first time that I have been ashamed of some of my fellow Christians.

The thing is I think that many people have claimed to be doing whatever they were doing in the name of their religious beliefs. Of course most often whatever they are doing is diametrically opposed to that their religion says they should be doing. And it's not just a problem in Christianity either though often that has been the case. It's the same mentality that led to 9-11 I believe.