CENSORSHIP MIND OPENER

If one were to visit Berlin and stroll across the Bebeplatz, a public square in the middle of the city, one would come upon The Empty Library, a reminder of May 10, 1933, the night

Nazi students burned all of the books banned in Germany. The Empty Library, also known as Bibliothek, is an underground vacant room, with a clear top for viewing, lined with empty bookshelves, and created by Israeli sculptor Micha Ullman.

Perhaps Florida should build a glass building, filled with all of the books our governor and his cronies are banning. Eventually, if he isn’t stopped, all of those shelves could be filled. Sometimes, silence and a visual reminder say it all. – Ruth Gordon, executive producer, Holocaust Impact Theater, Miami

Florida is where thinking and freedom of choice go to die. Contrary to what our governor says, “woke” simply means the ability to listen to and consider what other people think and feel, and to act in consensus with them.

Our governor, on the other hand, is certain that he and others with closed minds know better than what the rest of us know and act on. Russian President Vladimir Putin, the ayatollahs, Stalin and Hitler no doubt felt the same. Historically, those policies never turned out well.

Bias is more transmissible than COVID-19, less recognized, just as deadly and it results in violence and war. Bias’ chief repositories are religion and politics, two areas of struggles for power and control.

The only antidote is education, which teaches us to recognize bias, think critically and independently, and respect and tolerate differences of view. – J. Trigg Adams, Miami