“Of course you would do something like that,” were words uttered to me tonight at a Christmas party. We will get to what they were in relation to in a moment but I would first like to say it is shocking when one comes face to face with their own reputation.
The reason for those words being spoken to me was the topic of banning books came up and I stated that I saw the list of 880 books one Texas lawmaker wishes to ban, and that I calculated that in order for someone to read all those books in a year they would have to read 20 hours a day. While it is a little crazy that reading 880 books in a year is within the realm of the possible it would be extremely difficult to do and I think it is safe to say that the Texas lawmaker that wants to ban all those books hasn’t read a single one.
As soon as I mentioned my calculations was when I was told this was exactly the type of person I am. A person that would calculate how many hours a day someone would need to read for a year if they wished to finish 880 books. The funniest thing is that I am well aware that I am this type of person. The shocking thing is other people are aware of this as well.
It is one thing to think of yourself in a certain way. It is another entirely to find out that it is your reputation. Now I wonder what conversations, if any, people have about me when I am not around. Is it about my strange desire to turn all of life into an equation or something else entirely?
I am glad my reputation has to do with books and reading if that is what lead to the comment and if not it is good to know I am thought of as someone that is analytical. It is important to know facts and we know facts by breaking down information.
When it comes to the banning of books I am very much against the practice and hope most people are as well. I do think we should give the ones that wish to ban books a chance, however. That chance will be as follows; if someone wishes to ban or challenge a book they have to read the book, submit an essay detailing why it should be banned, and that essay must site five academic sources about the book they wish to ban.
David Huzzard Writes 