Have you ever watched a film or read a book that left you questioning the depths of human nature and the lessons of history?
I was eleven when I first saw Logan's Run. Believe it or not, the teachers at my high school thought it was a good movie to show students towards the end of the year. Little did I know, it would spark a lifelong reflection on the importance of preserving history through literature.
In case you haven't seen it, the film (and novel) is set in the 24th century, where people live in underground cities and enjoy pleasurable lives—until they turn thirty. At that point, they are killed, believing they will be reincarnated into an even better life. It's a way to control the population and maybe even stem overpopulation. Some people, knowing the truth, escaped death and were known as Runners. The computer controlling the cities would send agents called Sandmen to capture these Runners. The most horrific part was learning that some Runners were killed and used as food for the unsuspecting population.
There are films we watch, horrified by the setting. For me, Logan's Run was one of those films. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham was another. It's set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future where radiation from a nuclear war caused mutations and birth defects. Anyone not born "normal" was cast out or killed. That included cattle, dogs, and even babies with six toes. They were considered abominations because they weren't born in the image "God decided."
These dystopian tales, while fictional, serve as powerful allegories for real historical events. They remind us of the horrors of totalitarian regimes, eugenics, and the dangers of losing our humanity.
Today, there are different sorts of horrors in literature. Imagine a novel set in the past where black people are enslaved, treated as subhumans, stripped of their rights. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, for example. Even Little House On The Prairie reflects those times. People then were different from how they are now, using terms like "Negro" or worse.
Some people today advocate changing these works, claiming they incite hatred. I believe that reason is misguided.
I loved Tom Sawyer as a kid, as well as Huckleberry Finn and Little House On The Prairie. I don't hate black people, nor do I hate any other races. I dare say the same for others who read those books. I believe people are horrified by the historical treatment and try to deny it by censoring under the guise of "removing offense."
By censoring these works, we risk erasing the very lessons they teach us. These books provide a window into the past, showing us how far we've come and how much further we need to go. They spark important conversations about racism, equality, and human rights—conversations that are crucial for progress.
Censorship, in this context, does more harm than good. It shields us from the uncomfortable truths of our history, preventing us from learning and growing. Instead of hiding from the past, we should confront it, understand it, and ensure that its mistakes are not repeated.
Consider Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler. It's a deeply disturbing book filled with hate and propaganda. Yet, it remains an important historical document. By studying it, we learn about the dangerous ideology that led to one of the darkest periods in history—the Holocaust. Censoring such works might seem like a way to prevent the spread of harmful ideas, but it also risks forgetting the lessons learned from the consequences of those ideas. History must be remembered, no matter how uncomfortable, so that we can recognize the signs and prevent such horrors from happening again.
The world has changed so much, but there's still much to learn. Let's not hide from history; let's learn from it.
What are your thoughts on this? Should we censor historical literature to avoid offending modern sensibilities, or should we preserve these works to learn from our past? Let’s discuss in the comments below.
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