Donna Bernskoetter
Jefferson City
Dear Editor:
When I read the letter from Harold Horstmann and came across the portion in his letter about the “banned books,” I could not believe my eyes when looking at the list of books. I am just going to discuss “The Giving Tree.” It is my favorite book of all time. This is the story of a little boy who loves a tree, and the shade and apples it produces, and being able to climb and swing from the branches. The tree loves the boy as well, and misses him when the little boy grow up and spends less time with him. The little boy — now growing up, does ask the tree for many things, but the tree gives and gives — with no thought of anything in return. The last few pages make me cry. I once read it to a preschool class and I had to choke back tears. It is all about selfless love. I had to look up why it was banned. Here is what I found:
“The Giving Tree was banned from a public library in Colorado in 1988 because it was interpreted as being sexist. Some readers believe that the young boy continually takes from the female tree, without ever giving anything in return. As the boy grows up, he always comes back to the tree when he needs something, taking until the tree has nothing left to give him.”
What a pitiful attitude! I didn’t even think of the tree as being female. Who on earth thinks of a tree as female or male? It is a tree! The person or persons who banned this book are poor excuses for human beings — cynical, clueless and judgmental.
Only one person I know (sorry to say, but she was a Democrat), said she thought the story was about a greedy little boy. No! It was about a selfless, giving tree! Are these the same people who view the glass as half-empty instead of half-full?
Regarding the other books that were banned, only those with cynical minds could find negative traits in those books. I agree with Harold. They are not only indoctrinating students in our universities, but zeroing in on our children. What a sad time we are living in, when the Left finds joy and satisfaction in picking apart everything good and right.