#freedomofthought — Public Fediverse posts

A quotation from Kurt Vonnegut

   And on the subject of burning books: I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength or their powerful political connections or their great wealth, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and have refused to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles.
   So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922-2007) American novelist, journalist
Essay (2004-08-06), “I Love You, Madame Librarian,” In These Times Magazine, Vol. 29, No. 20 (2004-08-30)

More about this quote: wist.info/vonnegut-kurt-jr/840…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #vonnegut #kurtvonnegut #kurtvonnegutjr #bookbanning #bookburning #censorship #freedomofthought #librarians #library #privacy

A quotation from Charles Mackay

Keep, Galileo, to thy thought,
   And nerve thy soul to bear;
They may gloat o’er the senseless words they wring
   From the pangs of thy despair:
They may veil their eyes, but they cannot hide
   The sun’s meridian glow;
The heel of a priest may tread thee down,
   And a tyrant work thee woe;
But never a truth has been destroyed:
   They may curse it, and call it crime;
Pervert and betray, or slander and slay
   Its teachers for a time.
But the sunshine aye shall light the sky,
   As round and round we run;
And the truth shall ever come uppermost,
   And justice shall be done.

Charles Mackay (1814-1889) Scottish poet, journalist, song writer
Poem (1847), “Eternal Justice,” st. 4

More info about this quote: wist.info/mackay-charles/79828…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #charlesmackay #censorship #freedomofthought #inevitability #justice #repression #science #silencing #truth #tyranny

Books Unbanned | The Seattle Public Library

This brilliant program makes #ebooks and #audiobooks available to teens and young adults anywhere in the country. It was started by #brooklynpubliclibrary and #seattlepubliclibrary is the second one to join in helping kids and young people everywhere access books being banned by the religious right.

I hate that it has to exist. I love that it does.

If you know or are a young person living somewhere where books are getting banned because adults are afraid of change, follow the link and get your free card to private access to all the books.

https://www.spl.org/programs-and-services/teens/books-unbanned
#library #libraries #bookstodon #books #freedomofthought #freedom
#seattle