No emotions felt when burning book
“That’s EXACTLY how Nazi Germany started!”
—Basil Fawlty, manager, Fawlty Towers Hotel
I was curious in the wake of this recent church book burning brouhaha. I found a cheap paperback of one of my favorite books, Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea.” Then I burned it.
I expected a flood of emotions, but virtually none came. I did not put on a swastika armband, invade Poland, or gas millions of Jews. No desires to saw off people’s heads, force women into sex slavery, or chant death to America. I did not become a born again Christian. Or an Atheist. Or a Democrat. Or a Republican. Indeed, I felt no moral outrage whatsoever.
Only two thoughts flashed through my head. First, a mental note to buy another copy on Amazon. Second, when burning books outdoors, always stand upwind.
Dr. Brinton Corb