M a r k   E v e r g l a d e

Cyberpunk Blog Post 4

Picture of science fiction book brave new world cover
"Censoring our history is
far more dangerous than
anything Huxley wrote."

Brave New World - Censored!

Once required reading, for the past decade, Huxley's Brave New World has been removed from school and local libraries throughout the nation. Like Animal Farm and 1984, it is one of the most top requested books to ban. But does removing this book from school do anything to protect society?

While Huxley himself held elitist views, there were few more radical visionaries in his time, as he understood how many different ways societies could organize themselves, as evidenced in Island. Yes, his book spawns conflict. Yes, it offends people. But it also inspires people to struggle against the status quo and the artificial constructs that civilizations use to quiet the people.

Conflict spawns conversation and moves society forward. Censorship, however, is a way for those in power to censor not books, but to censor our history, and that is far more dangerous than any words Huxley or anyone else could ever write!

Great Quotes from the Book:


“But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.”

“Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly -- they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.”

“Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the overcompensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand.”

“Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.”

Home Pageorder now - Due July 2020