Letter: Seeing the whole picture

I am writing in response to a June 5 letter from Roger Scott that criticized a recent editorial cartoon that showed two women at a bookstore, one holding a Bible and saying "Violence, incest, abuse ... I can't believe this book is still on the shelves." Mr. Scott objected to the cartoon as one-sided and rightly noted that while the Bible indeed includes those objectionable elements, it has a "real message" about love and forgiveness and redemption.

I quite agree with his analysis of the Bible, but I fear that he missed the point of the cartoon. The U.S. has recently seen rampant book-banning in schools and libraries, often based on parental objection to a single scene or the choice of a word or two. Often that objection comes from Christian conservatives, who might be as willing as Mr. Scott is to overlook individual objectionable elements in order to benefit from the greater whole of the Bible but are unwilling to look beyond a single scene or word in order to consider the larger theme or meaning of a book they want banned. I saw the cartoon as satirically holding up a mirror in hopes of prompting further reflection by those who might support banning books.

Hilary Ward Schnadt

Hainesville