Books on Fire: Reading IS Political

Literature has long been a part of the political landscape. Authors write what they know. And what they experience. Many are part storytellers and part political commentators. So much so that the mere ability to read has, at times and for various groups, been a defiant and potentially life-threatening act of rebellion against one’s oppressors. Access to and exclusion from education is a critical tool for the would-be tyrant. They thrive on information control and an unquestioned authority that always crumbles under the watchful eye of critical analysis and an informed populace. 

The smart ones know this.

When we look at any group intent on authoritarianism, we often see the burning and limiting of access to books. From the Qin Dynasty in 213 BCE burning Confucian texts, to the 1800s American South burning Anti-slavery literature to the infamous 1930s book burning under the Nazi Regime. These events all share a commonality. The leaders approached these burning with the same thought, ‘people can’t read about it, they can’t question us about it’. It’s a transparent attempt to stamp out dissent through censorship. 

Most Americans alive today have enjoyed unprecedented access to ideas. It’s easy to take for granted the freedom of information and, by extension, the freedom of thought we enjoy. But it is not a given. It has been taken away from societies before, and it will happen again. In fact, it is happening all over the world right now.

We are readers. We read for escape. We read for fun. We read for information. But most of all, we read because we love it. It doesn’t matter that we don’t read the same things. It matters that we can. 

But if we don’t preserve the right for writers to write and readers to read, no one will, and we will force the next generation to fight a battle we should have. It isn’t enough to stand for the books you love. You must stand for them all and be confident in the knowledge that you don’t need to oppress the bad to have the good stand out. It always does. Well-read people tend to be more compassionate, empathetic, and better critical thinkers. Their exposure to negative information doesn’t outweigh the good. 

People often say art and literature shouldn’t be political. But it always has been. Charles Dickens championed the working class, Virginia Woolf pushed for equality, and George Orwell was anti-communist. These examples are from my studies, but there are 100s more. 

So, go out and read. And fight for everyone’s right to read. Change laws, stop laws, and don’t step aside as they censor ideas. Because reading is political. And it always will be.