'Freadom' to read in honor of free speech

By WES KAPPELMAN
The Oskaloosa Herald

OSKALOOSA October 04, 2007 12:04 pm

— While recognizing Banned Books Week, an Oskaloosa bookstore hosted a lecture by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression president last Tuesday.
Christopher Finan spoke to an audience of 12 on Oct. 2 on Tuesday evening. Banned Books Week, which runs until Oct. 6, is supported by several national groups, including Finan’s ABFEE and the American Library Association.
Finan, who was also supporting his book “From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act: A history of the fight for free speech in America,” said Banned Books Week is the national celebration of the freedom to read. He described his book as an overview of the history of free speech in America.
Finan said that in the beginning the First Amendment was an afterthought and that the founding fathers disagreed on what it meant. Challenges to the morality of the time were frequently censored, Finan said.
Then there was a “civil liberties meltdown” during World War I, where more than 1,000 Americans were convicted for opposing the war, Finan said.
A dissenting opinion by Supreme Court Justice Oliver Holmes in the 1919 Abrams v. United States case helped to eventually create more free speech rights, Finan said.
“The growth of free speech hasn’t been a straight line,” Finan said. He said the worst erosion came during the Cold War when hundreds of communists were sent to jail. He said in times of fear, the government grabs for all the power it can.
“We’re in one of those periods now,” Finan said. He said the government has issued more than 100,000 national security letters for private information.
Finan said the pushback against censorship has come quicker than during the Cold War or World War I, citing cases where librarians went to court with the FBI to keep Internet and book records private.
School districts are where censorship battles also are fought.
In 2006, Finan said the most banned book by school districts in 2006 was “And Tango Makes Three,” a children’s story about gay penguins raising an egg. Harry Potter used to be the most banned book, Finan said.
Finan said his organization fought battles to keep the books in libraries. He said he doesn’t have a problem with parents deciding what their kids read, but said they shouldn’t decide what other kids can’t read.
After his lecture, Finan held a discussion with the audience, then Nancy Simpson, book vault owner, took the group downstairs for refreshments.
In an interview after answering questions with people that attended his presentation, Finan said Oskaloosa was his fifth or sixth stop while touring for Banned Books Week and supporting his book.
“Basically, I’ve been going to talk to anyone who will listen to me,” Finan said. “I enjoy telling this story.”
He said his book, which took him three years to write, covers the fight for free speech by journalists, labor and women’s rights advocates.
“There really isn’t another book that pulls all these different stories into one narrative,” Finan said.
He said the lesson of his book recognizes that there will always be pressures for censorship.
“If we don’t continue to fight, then we’ll lose the freedom that we’ve won,” Finan said.
Nathan Smith, a junior at William Penn University who lives in Pella, said he enjoyed the lecture and was surprised by the small turnout.
“I am all about fighting censorship,” Smith said. “It opened my eyes to what is going on behind the scenes still.”
He said he found out about the presentation from a campus-wide e-mail from the university.
Liz Colton, of Oskaloosa, said she found out about Finan’s visit in the Book Vault electronic newsletter. She said she was surprised by how long free speech was suppressed.
Tuesday’s lecture was the first author presentation at the Book Vault she had attended.
“I liked it,” Colton said.
Rick Vogel, an electronic media professor at William Penn, said he was fascinated by the presentation.
“The need to be aware of threats to the First Amendment have always been important,” Vogel said.
Simpson said she heard Finan speak last June at the American Booksellers trade show in New York City and decided that the Book Vault would be an ideal location for Finan to speak.
During her library days, she said she had made up her mind that she would choose jail over disclosure of her patrons privacy records.
“And I still would,” she said.
Herald staff writer Wes Kappelman can be reached by e-mail at news2@oskyherald.com

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