Tam talks about the Newbery Medal, which is presented for outstanding children’s books. Particularly of interest is the 1942 winner:
Thanks to a good friend, I have just finished reading the 1942 Newbery winner, a book entitled The Matchlock Gun. I can only shake my head and agree with my friend that this wonderful little tale would never survive in a modern children’s library. You see, from cover to cover the whole book would be deemed thoughtcrime in today’s America.
I can’t imagine it today either. First off, few people know what a matchlock gun is. Secondly, it’s entirely unPC. We don’t think favorably of militia service today, because it’s become associated with exploding federal buildings, thanks to the hysterical media, but back then, the idea was properly understood.
I do believe on gun rights, that we’re winning most of the political battles these days, but culturally, things aren’t what they used to be. We have a lot of challenges on that front, and it’s rough to make any progress with today’s media culture. What we can accomplish politically is dictated by the limits of the population at large, and the further we drift from stories like The Matchlock Gun, the harder it’s going to be to make real progress in restoring the second amendment back to its original meaning.
I wonder if she’s read The Giver and its follow-ups. The Giver is a Newbury award winning novel that is extraordinarily anti-statist and is taught in classes all over the country.
In fact, I happen to think that children’s literature has many titles that are libertarian in their nature. They might not be explicitly anti-gun, but they are pro-freedom, and that’s a good thing.
Another one that likely will not be allowed in children’s libraries anymore is “Johnny Tremain”, because that one is about a young man who joins the American Revolution and fights against the Brits.
My dad’s classes were reading Johnny Tremain until he retired in 2006. That book is still going strong, don’t worry :)
I should clarify a statement I made in my previous post: I said They might not be explicitly anti-gun…. I should have said, they might nobe explicitly anti-gun-control.
I mentioned in comments at Tam’s place that several branches of my county library have copies in stock.
I also found it at a used bookstore yesterday and bought a copy.
Will read it after I finish the newest entry in the “Vatta’s War” series by Elizabeth Moon.
“Well, you both went out with the blue balloon, and you took your gun with you, just in case, as you always did…”
– Winnie-The-Pooh
We might be winning the war, but when it comes to fighting the indoctrination of kids, we’re not doing too well, and I don’t know how to even start to change things.