Clean Those Dirty Infectious Books--Avoid the Next Pandemic!

Shouldn't Mein Kampf be rewritten/edited? The book was edited first by Emil Maurice, then by Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess around 1926. It should next be edited by Texas state Rep. Matt Krause, who sent a letter to school districts detailing a list of 850 books that he believed “might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex.” Krause’s letter has prompted several book removals in Texas schools, although we really don't know his feelings on Jews.

And we should take a really close look at "The Communist Manifesto." History has a lot of ugliness, but it is history.

What about the Oxford Companion of American Literature? As compendia go, it's just a little too big and a little too controversial. As companions go, you'll be judged by the company you keep, right?

So, kill the messenger or the message? Or both? Just ask a stupid person. He or she (sorry, they) will answer, "More information is not better than less. I have enough to worry about."

Sanitizing books is sanitizing history, and--as the cliché says, "we'll be doomed to repeat it," dirt and all.

If we truly want to sanitize books, I suggest just some 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol on the glossy pages or freezing the pages that aren't glossy (kills germs, like the SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19--and it's about time!).

You're more likely to "catch" a germ from a book and make it yours, than a really bad idea. After all, shouldn't we get really bad ideas on our own?