“You can’t sit there! It’s King Edward’s throne!” said the soon to be crowned King George the sixth to his speech therapist Lionel in the movie, The King’s Speech. Lionel challenged the soon to be King by arguing with him and refusing to move…until the King said, “because I have a voice!”
To that, Lionel responded, “that you do,” and he got up off of the throne. Lionel wanted to remind the stuttering King that he had a voice. In a world full of noise, we can often feel as if our voices go unnoticed. In the backseat of my car my children often try to speak over each other and I must constantly remind them to take their turns talking. Often one freaks out at the fear of not being heard! How awful to know you have something to say, but not ever have a place in which to say it!
We know about censorship, because we hear about it happening in communist countries. We also hear about shadow banning and censorship among social media platforms. It’s easy to feel as if we do not have a voice if what we post comes back with few reactions. Yet we do. God has given us each a voice that He desires us to use for His glory, to accomplish His will on Earth, as it is in Heaven. Amen!
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed” (Proverbs 31:8).
I recently heard a report about the state of children’s books. In it, I learned that book banning is on the rise. Apparently book banning happens when someone speaks up to a school or library or bookstore and asks that a certain book not be offered in that place anymore. Those in charge then make the ultimate decision of whether or not to continue offering the book to it’s patrons. Most books that have been banned were either too sexually explicit or promoted an agenda people did not believe should be promoted in that way.
Until I heard this report about book banning, I did not know anyone had the right to do anything about a book they found in a library or school library they thought should not be there! I am all for the freedom of speech and expression. It would take a VERY extreme example of a book for me to request it be pulled from a shelf. After hearing about this, I spoke with my library about it and they showed me the form they use when someone voices a concern like that.
I am definitely not out to ban books, but it’s nice to know if I come across a children’s book that’s not appropriate for children, I can speak up about it. The same can be said about your child’s school, education, sports’ leagues, or the ruffians at the playground. I encourage you, if you see something, do something about it. Speak up while you have a voice. Pray for other Christians to do the same. Pray for the hearts and minds of our young people to be preserved. Pray that children’s youthful innocence would be preserved and not harmed. Amen!
