From: Marc Aronson <75664.3110>
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 13:37:48 -0400

Maia:

Well said, but, as a firm believer in the first POV, I have to restate something I've said before: the best-organized, best-funded, most thorough efforts to inculcate ideals through books -- think of Socialist Realism in the Soviet Union, Catholic doctrine in parochial schools, Zionist idealism in Israeli schools -- fail. If those programs backed by governments, laws, restriction of all forms of media, bans on certain types of writing, as well as creative and inventive authors and artists (Russia had wonderful children's theater, youth programs, magazines, etc.) cannot in any reliable way influence belief (except to make young people sceptical and cynical) we must know that reactions to books are so individual and so conditioned by everything else in life that we cannot tolerate any of the "guidelines" and other efforts that merely mangle literature without helping readers.

Marc Aronson
Received on Tue 19 Oct 1999 12:37:48 PM CDT