Jack Sass!
We Get Letters (Sometimes very topical ones!)
Dear Jack Sass!
Why isn't the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights the law of the land? Why aren't libraries forced to uphold these principles?
Signed, Miss Samantha
Dear Miss Samantha,
To force any set of ideas, even a set of rights, is to withdraw the right of choice. Is there any more basic right? The nuns taught me when I was just a wee lad that choice, free will, if you will, is what separates us, elevates us above the animals.
Perhaps in this case we might take a lesson from pop culture. The "Pirate's Code" was an essential plot point in the feature film Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, starring Johnny Depp. While cannon fire from the Pearl punishes Port Royal and her pirates pillage, a group of them chance upon the story's ingénue, Elizabeth Swann, daughter of the governor. As sweet Elizabeth faces kidnapping or worse, she invokes the Pirate's Code and demands the right of "parley" with the pirate captain.
I must digress a moment to explain that, according to my brief research, there was not a universal pirate's code in actual practice. There were however, "Articles" of conduct enforced upon ship's crews and other gangs of pirates. There was also a robust camaraderie among the pirate brethren. Another pirate was your "brother" and entitled to what we today might refer to as "professional courtesy." So there might well have been a precedent for "parley" in actual pirate discourse. And now, back to our story...
With her jaw firmly set, the intrepid Miss Swann negotiates a cessation of hostilities with the evil Capt. Barbossa. Barbossa, as played by Geoffrey Rush, mistakenly believes Swann is the offspring of the late pirate Bootstrap Turner, and Turner family blood is part of the key to remove the curse of the Black Pearl. As the Pearl sets sail with her still aboard, she furiously insists that Barbossa has violated the rules of parley and the pirate's code and must release her. Barbossa replies:
"First, your return to shore was not part of our negotiations nor our agreement, so I must do nothing. And secondly, you must be a pirate for the pirate's code to apply and you're not. And thirdly, the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules. Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, Miss Turner!"
So I recommend we morph and amend the ALA's Bill of Rights into the Unendorsed Guidelines and Suggestions. The libertarian in me is certain the UGS will be a powerful tool for mediocrity, and if you choose to embrace it, let me be the first to say "Welcome aboard, Miss Samantha!"
Dear Jack Sass!
Why isn't the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights the law of the land? Why aren't libraries forced to uphold these principles?
Signed, Miss Samantha
Dear Miss Samantha,
To force any set of ideas, even a set of rights, is to withdraw the right of choice. Is there any more basic right? The nuns taught me when I was just a wee lad that choice, free will, if you will, is what separates us, elevates us above the animals.
Perhaps in this case we might take a lesson from pop culture. The "Pirate's Code" was an essential plot point in the feature film Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, starring Johnny Depp. While cannon fire from the Pearl punishes Port Royal and her pirates pillage, a group of them chance upon the story's ingénue, Elizabeth Swann, daughter of the governor. As sweet Elizabeth faces kidnapping or worse, she invokes the Pirate's Code and demands the right of "parley" with the pirate captain.
I must digress a moment to explain that, according to my brief research, there was not a universal pirate's code in actual practice. There were however, "Articles" of conduct enforced upon ship's crews and other gangs of pirates. There was also a robust camaraderie among the pirate brethren. Another pirate was your "brother" and entitled to what we today might refer to as "professional courtesy." So there might well have been a precedent for "parley" in actual pirate discourse. And now, back to our story...
With her jaw firmly set, the intrepid Miss Swann negotiates a cessation of hostilities with the evil Capt. Barbossa. Barbossa, as played by Geoffrey Rush, mistakenly believes Swann is the offspring of the late pirate Bootstrap Turner, and Turner family blood is part of the key to remove the curse of the Black Pearl. As the Pearl sets sail with her still aboard, she furiously insists that Barbossa has violated the rules of parley and the pirate's code and must release her. Barbossa replies:
"First, your return to shore was not part of our negotiations nor our agreement, so I must do nothing. And secondly, you must be a pirate for the pirate's code to apply and you're not. And thirdly, the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules. Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, Miss Turner!"
So I recommend we morph and amend the ALA's Bill of Rights into the Unendorsed Guidelines and Suggestions. The libertarian in me is certain the UGS will be a powerful tool for mediocrity, and if you choose to embrace it, let me be the first to say "Welcome aboard, Miss Samantha!"
posted by Mr.Jack @ 2:40 AM
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