Apparently there are some people who feel the need to rewrite Mark Twain. I didn't even know that those kinds of things were allowed in this house of American activities. But apparently it is. I have to say that the upside to Mark Twain being rewritten is that I will never again feel bad about harsh notes. “Your ending sucks” is nothing close to what may or may not be censorship. I say may or may not, because it seems that censorship is arbitrary. Maybe it's not exactly censorship as it's taking a time machine back in time and telling Mark Twain what he can and cannot say. Also, time machines are awesome. I thought I saw one earlier today on the 101, but it turned out that it was a UFO, which turned out to be a Porche Panamera and I want one.
As much as I would like it to be, my argument is not whether or not “Huckelberry Finn” should be censored. The fact that Mark Twain is being “rewritten,” weirdly reminds me of none other than Ray Bradbury. He wrote a book called “Fahrenheit 451” in which books have been banned and are ordered to be burned. This law comes from an outside source, some unknown government entity, who may have misunderstood the future idea of the Kindle. This outside entity tells its citizens that they can't read books and books are torched at 451 Fahrenheit, the temperature at which paper burns. I could be reaching to compare rewriting Mark Twain to burning books, but that is not the point. The point is that we had this idea that the enemy would come from the outside and force us to do something, but in the end, the enemy comes from within. We are the people who allow Mark Twain to be censored. Not the government, not the state, not the tooth fairy. It comes from us.
We know this. This is exactly what happened to our Orweillian fear of Big Brother watching us. Everyone was afraid that “1984” would someday come true. It did. We did. In the name of all the social networks and outlets where we tell the whole world what we're doing RIGHT NOW, how we feel RIGHT NOW and who were dating or breaking up with RIGHT NOW. What was the fear of Big Brother watching us became a resounding “I'm ready for my close-up.” No one came from the outside to steal our privacy, it came from within ourselves. We gave away our lives. And why did we do that? It's the human condition. To connect, to to respond, to be witnessed.
So the real question is: Do we need to censor ourselves or can we be trusted with our lives. “They” are not going to burn your book. “They” are not going to watch you while you watch “Jersey Shore.” You might have a desperate need to tell someone and then regret it. You might love the fact that you can tell everyone and maybe one person “likes” it. And yes, "Jersey Shore" can also be connected to literary heavyweights, because let's face it, it's "Factotum" with a tan.
We are the big brothers and the book burners. And as my own big brother I would prefer them not to burn, so I'm going to put water where my mouth is and say that we have a choice. "They" can't do anything unless we allow it. “They” are not coming for us. Maybe not even the aliens? Unless that Porche Panamera really is a.... Never mind.
We are the big brothers and the book burners. And as my own big brother I would prefer them not to burn, so I'm going to put water where my mouth is and say that we have a choice. "They" can't do anything unless we allow it. “They” are not coming for us. Maybe not even the aliens? Unless that Porche Panamera really is a.... Never mind.
