Dmitri Dmitriev
Member
This is a topic that's been on my mind a while... and I've been wondering how to address or talk about this issue. I'll start with a quote:
Where they start by burning books, they will end in burning people.
Historically, book burning has been done by a group to demonstrate their stance against certain ideas or values (that are represented). Often, book burnings will have religious or political motivation.
Book burnings are incredibly strong, symbolic acts of burning down ideas/values, burning the books that spread said ideas, and burning the people who believe in said ideas.
I am not limiting this discussion to just book burnings, but the destruction of any text, art, or artefact. I feel there are few things that are more violent than this loss of knowledge, history, and culture.
The example that got me to make this thread was the DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans of Canada) budget cuts; the government of Canada closing 7 of 11 DFO libraries late last year, which resulted in the loss of fish, ocean, and freshwater research from as far back as the 19th century. While they do say they are digitizing many of the material, it is unclear what exactly is being lost... One wonders what would happen if we fail to digitize these libraries...
This isn't explicit destruction, but it is library leveling on a grand scale. What bothers me more is that the government does so in a very round about way, lying about the reasons behind the DFO cuts, while removing environmental policies off of federal decision making. I can't help but equate this to the burning of Fisheries and Oceans research, and by extension, environmental research. It's very clear what the government thinks about our environment.
This example aside, what do you think about book burning? Both in history and in modern times.
Is there any context where you would find it acceptable? What do we lose by destroying books?
Where they start by burning books, they will end in burning people.
Historically, book burning has been done by a group to demonstrate their stance against certain ideas or values (that are represented). Often, book burnings will have religious or political motivation.
Book burnings are incredibly strong, symbolic acts of burning down ideas/values, burning the books that spread said ideas, and burning the people who believe in said ideas.
I am not limiting this discussion to just book burnings, but the destruction of any text, art, or artefact. I feel there are few things that are more violent than this loss of knowledge, history, and culture.
The example that got me to make this thread was the DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans of Canada) budget cuts; the government of Canada closing 7 of 11 DFO libraries late last year, which resulted in the loss of fish, ocean, and freshwater research from as far back as the 19th century. While they do say they are digitizing many of the material, it is unclear what exactly is being lost... One wonders what would happen if we fail to digitize these libraries...
This isn't explicit destruction, but it is library leveling on a grand scale. What bothers me more is that the government does so in a very round about way, lying about the reasons behind the DFO cuts, while removing environmental policies off of federal decision making. I can't help but equate this to the burning of Fisheries and Oceans research, and by extension, environmental research. It's very clear what the government thinks about our environment.
This example aside, what do you think about book burning? Both in history and in modern times.
Is there any context where you would find it acceptable? What do we lose by destroying books?
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. Thanks.