Infidel’ texts banned in schools
Educators say they follow state law
By Frank E. Lockwood
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
It sounds like a decree from the Middle Ages or the Middle East – a ban on “infidel” books.
But it’s the law of the land in Kentucky.
Under state statute, “no book or other publication of a sectarian, infidel or immoral character, or that reflects on any religious denomination, shall be used or distributed in any common school.”
The law also prohibits schools from teaching “sectarian, infidel, or immoral doctrine.”
The state’s book ban does not apply to the Bible. Kentucky courts have ruled that the Christian and Hebrew scriptures are not sectarian.
The prohibition on “infidel” books is at least 100 years old. But it is not just a dust-covered relic. Schools across the state, including those in Lexington, have added the book ban to their official policy manuals.
As a high school senior, I got to choose between The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. I chose
The Fountainhead. Never felt the compulsion to find out what I had missed.
Also grew up in Alabama. We had the pledge of allegiance (with the God part) until about 8th grade, at which point they cancelled it and brought it back in 10th grade. My homeroom teacher would stand with her hand over her heart but would not say it. I thought she was such a rebel.
Jump down the throat! Personal attack! Gerrymandering!
Damien was referring to the guy who had the choice of which book to read, I think. Anyways, I didn’t have the energy to “flame on,” so just fill that stuff in with a hateful screed if you want and respond to that. I would have probably said something about Ayn Rand taking two-thousand pages to say what Kurt Vonnegut can say with more meaning and heart in a short story. Also, babies already know how to cry, so she didn’t teach mankind jack shit.
Honestly, it was long enough ago now that I can’t even remember why I hated it so much. The only thing left is the sense of loathing and a vague impression that someone had spilled some manifesto in my literature. Also, our “assignment” upon reading the books was to complete essays to be sent to the Ayn Rand institute. The whole episode was just very fishy, and it was pretty clear that our teacher’s motivations weren’t entirely literary in nature.
Every now and then I think perhaps I should reread it to recall exactly what was so objectionable, but there’s so many other books that haven’t already infuriated me that I just pick one of those instead when the urge strikes.
The sad thing about Atlas is that there are actually some pretty good pro-capitalist viginettes in there (notably, the demise of the motor company from whence John Galt came), but it’s all tied together in this turgid, swollen absurd storyline that just never ends.
