Banned, burned and beloved

This week is the annual American Library Association's Banned Books Week. Last year, I celebrated this week by dragging out a few of my old favorites, which also happen to be on the list of top 100 banned books, including Beloved by Nobel-Prize winning author Toni Morrison -- which she won a Pulitzer for by the way -- and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

I don't get this. Why ban the book? I understand child-appropriate literature. Ok, so you want to keep the books about blow job techniques out of the fourth-grade library. No big deal. But do you have to ruin it for the rest of us?

In my personal opinion (which is all over this blog, in case you didn't notice) one of our greatest freedoms is the right to free speech and all that implies. That means I will write, read or say what I want. You are not obligated to read or listen to a damn word of it. You can hate everything that comes out of my mouth. You can walk down the other side of the street to avoid me. But it's still my right.

I do not like televengelists. I don't. I think they are weird and uber-preachy and everytime they throw up their hands to PRAISE JESUS, it freaks me the fuck out. I think we should ban them.

Oh wait, freedom of speech.

I am very thankful that I live in a country that can even discuss banning a book. And then someone like me can stand up and argue against it. It's my pleasure to serve that role.

And if it weren't for free speech, I would have never read The Story of O, which ... Do I even need to finish that sentence?

I also recommend you hop over to my new favorite erotic blogger, Mon Mouth. Be quick, before he's banned.

Just try and read only one.