[Rumil]

Interesting discussion!

Luckily ?! I don't have children therefore the 'banning' issue does not personally resonate. However, on a more general platform, I still have to say that I'm amazed that in the USA, which, I'm led to believe, still has laws preserving freedom of speech, this subject still rears its ugly head.

First of all much appreciation of Saucie, Lindil, and many others, don't blame them if you dislike what I have to say!

A few points which I'm drawn to discuss -

Banning books will merely increase interest amongst potential readers - somehow I find this enormously comforting.

As a committed bibliophile, I can't abide book burning or censorship, at least amongst consenting adults. Mein Kampf was mentioned in this thread, I think that if Hitler's writings had been utterly suppressed then we would not be able to a) understand that period of history, b) be on our guard against similar nutters in future.

As for the Bible, Harry Potter, Medieval 'magic', the Koran and The Lord of the Rings, my opinion is that they're all works of fiction. I hope you will not torture and burn me as your co-religionists may well have done a mere few centuries (weeks?) ago if you feel offended by my opinion. I am quite happy if your opinion differs from mine, please extend me the same courtesy.

I think the real difference is that neither the Lord of the Rings nor Harry Potter has (yet!) been hijacked by a political or religious establishment in order to bend others to their will. I guess that there may be an element of the Green movement attempting to bend LoTR to their political agenda but this does not seem overly significant to me (though I would support many of their aims so may not be completely unbiased here).

Some have implied that Tolkien's work can only be fully appreciated by those who have some spiritual 'belief' (or irrationality, maybe?) and therefore JK Rowling is inferior (in this respect) as she does not conform to this belief framework. I absolutely disagree with this analysis. It appears to me that JK Rowling's books are more 'moral' than most. I also denigrate those who claim that morality can only stem from religion. As an atheist / agnostic (haven't quite decided as I'm not dead yet) this sort of attitude would surely condemn me to a life of thievery and murder, while I can assure you that I have committed no such acts! I imagine that the Spanish Inquisition would not have looked favourably upon the possessor of a book which claimed that demi-gods such as the Valar, in all contravention of christian teachings, ruled the world, even if they had the wit to see that it was a work of fantasy. In fact possession of books of any type generally seems suspicious to those of totalitarian bent (unless it is the book of the authorised Great Leader, Prophet or Disciple of course!)

I think that in the USA and the UK we have been so used to the idea of liberty that we are beginning to lose the appreciation of the freedoms that were so intensely prized by our forefathers and indeed foremothers. Beware of anyone trying to control what you read, listen to or view, soon enough they will claim to know what's 'best for you', then it gets really scary!