Things I have come across in the past few days

The following are selections from texts that I have been reading in the past few days. Typically the reason that each section caught my eye should be fairly obvious.

From ‘Miami and the Siege of Chicago’ by Norman Mailer (New York: Signet: 1968):

Chicago is the great American city. New York is one of the capitals of the world and Los Angeles is a constellation of plastic, San Fransisco is a lady, Boston has become Urban Renewal, Philadelphia and Baltimore and Washington wink like dull diamonds in the smog of Eastern Megalopolis, and New Orleans is unremarkable past the French Quarter. Detroit is a one trade town, Pittsburgh has lost its golden triangle, St. Louis has become the golden arch of the corporation, and nights in Kansas City close early. The oil depletion allowance makes Houston and Dallas naught but checkerboards for this sort of game. But Chicago is a great American city. Perhaps it is the last of the great American cities (p. 85)

From the article “Broadening Concerns for Intellectual Freedom” by Everett T. Moore in ‘The Library Quarterly’ (1968: Vol. 38, No. 4: p. 309-314):

Why wave the red flag of intellectualism in the faces of some of our best friends? (p. 309)

From the article “Censorship of Books by the Library” by Margery Bedinger in Wilson Bulletin (1929: Vol. 3, No. 21: p. 621-626):

With writing whose only intent is frank salaciousness, I have nothing to say. There has never been doubt among librarians as to how it should be treated. (p. 621)

We all know what tremendous changes the automobile has made in our way of living, how it has affected home life, the relations of the sexes, economic and industrial conditions, bringing all parts of the country near together and revolutionizing farm life. In the light of this knowledge, who can day what greater changes, what more acute social problems, what differences in mental attitudes the airplane will bring about! (p. 622)

Librarians are a very homogeneous group; with negligible exceptions we come from the same sort of families, have had the same sort of (and here’s the pity) sheltered upbringing, moved in the same protected and genteel circles all our lives, and to crown all, our ranks consist overwhelmingly of one sex; very, very largely of unmarried members of that sex. (p. 623)

The sheltered, protected girl is more handicapped when she tries to cope with the world and form just, wise decisions than any other sort of normal person whatever. (p. 624)

O, my sisters, we have thought that upon us lay the heavy burden of guarding the morals of the youth, 90 per cent of whom could tell us many things, and the funniest of all, we really thought we had the wisdom and ability to do it! (p. 624)

And if, contrary to my contention, it were best to pick and choose what young people should know, I still maintain that it is presumptuous and indeed absurd for the ordinary librarian to do the picking and choosing; when we have especially trained people for the Intermediate rooms, then perhaps those people might. But if it must be done (and remember, I firmly believe it should not be done) I should far rather have a committee of child psychologists, juvenile court judges, probation officers, and trained psychiatrists pass upon the books, than leave it to the personal reaction of women, or men, not widely experienced in life and knowing little of the difficulties and attitude of youth in the changing world today. (p. 625)