From The Book-Burning Past To The Book-Banning Present

Chuck Hobbs, Columnist

When Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933, his meteoric rise from a political rabble-rouser to “Fuhrer” (leader) was facilitated, in large part, because of his oratorical gifts that captivated the German masses still reeling from their losses after the First World War.

Hitler’s ability to freely profess lies about Judaism, in general, and the role of Jews in toppling the German empire during World War I shaped his vision of Germany as a national socialist state under his unquestioned authority. However, Hitler could only actualize this authority if he suppressed all forms of dissent to his political and social viewpoints.

In May of 1933, less than four months after becoming chancellor, Hitler dispatched his loyal propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, to begin a campaign that encouraged college students and concerned citizens to burn books deemed offensive to the Third Reich.

Anyone who had read Hitler’s discursive Mein Kampf prior to 1933 likely was not surprised that works by Jewish intellectuals like physicist Albert Einstein, neurologist Sigmund Freud, and protestant anti-Fascist playwright Bertholdt Brecht were first among the pyres that sent flames flashing through the night skies in Berlin and other German cities.

But the bonfires also included copies of All Quiet on the Western Front, the classic novel by Erich Remarque that gives a harrowing view of life in the trenches for German soldiers during the last days of World War I. In a small twist of irony, I find it interesting that the latest Netflix adaptation of the text rapt attention winning four Oscars in the same month that in Florida and the majority of her sister states across the South–legislative bodies, Make America Great Again (MAGA) governors, and local school boards–are banning books and seeking to limit any intellectual challenges to their views of America.

As a history lover, I am very careful to avoid trite comparisons of current events to horrific moments in history like the Holocaust or American slavery. But in this instance, the words and deeds of totalitarians past, like Nazi Min. Joseph Goebbels, are none dissimilar from would-be totalitarians present, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

It is important to note that by 1933, the German people—desperate from over a decade of economic punishment from the victorious Allies of World War I and reeling from the Great Depression that collapsed markets worldwide in 1929—surrendered their common sense and basic decency to Hitler’s Nazi regime because they believed that he would restore Germany’s greatness. We now know that while a period of German prosperity did ensue under Hitler prior to World War II due to his breaking the Versailles Treaty that ended World War I by re-arming his nation’s military and focusing on automobile (Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW) manufacturing, his strategic military blunders (namely, invading the Soviet Union) soon left him and his propaganda minister Goebbels dead by suicide—and the entire nation in ruins and split under Soviet and American occupation for nearly 50 years.

But today, in 2023, does it make any logical sense for American citizens in Florida, Tennessee, Texas, and other heavily Republican enclaves to surrender common sense and decency by allowing Republican leaders to ban books and forbid the exchange of competing ideas, ideals, and ideologies?

No, it absolutely does not!

Further, the framers of the United States Constitution drafted the First Amendment in 1787 to secure free speech, freedom of religious expression, and the right to seek redress of grievances. However, modern MAGA Republicans are actively pushing to subvert speech, establish Christian dogma as superior to secular law, and in Florida, pushing to punish bloggers while preventing protesters from having unfettered access to the Capitol Complex all because Gov. Ron DeSantis seeks to suppress all forms of dissent to his political and social viewpoints. Sound familiar?

Since its inception, one of the hallmarks of the American Republic has been protest, be it in peaceful forms such as the Civil and Women’s Rights Movements or more violent forms such as Nat Turner’s slave rebellion or the Civil War. As an advocate for peaceful dissent, first and foremost, it is my sincere hope that my readers realize that attacks on books and the academy are always the opening battles of any cultural wars and that the same must be resisted by teachers who will teach the truth, bloggers and columnists who will write the truth, and students who will read the books that have been banned—all with no fear of what the temporary powers-that-be may seek to do as punishment.

Lest we forget...

Texas Methodist Foundation Launches Neighbor2Neighbor Initiative

Helping Neighborhoods Thrive Through Their Local Churches

Neighbor2Neighbor Gathering

Texas Methodist Foundation (TMF) announces the launch of Neighbor2Neighbor, a three-year initiative that helps churches be the heart of flourishing for their local neighborhood and community. The essential practice of a Neighbor2Neighbor church will be to strengthen bonds across the entire neighborhood, expanding and deepening relationships with neighbors – whether they are church members or not. Neighbor2Neighbor will walk alongside churches as they rediscover those who live around them and identify the gifts in the neighborhood, build relationships, and, most importantly, use those gifts to build a thriving congregation and a flourishing community grounded in love, generosity, and belonging.

“Neighbor2Neighbor is an opportunity for participating churches to deepen relationships with their neighbors in a way that makes that church a community hub, and where residents in the parish neighborhood see the church as an active, engaging place contributing to their lives,” said Wendy Abel, TMF vice president for Grants.

Based on the work of DeAmon Harges, founder of and a recipient, Neighbor2Neighbor will use the well-established Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) process.

During the first year of the initiative, participating churches will create relationships with neighbors who reside within a mile of the church. This will be a time of identifying the spiritual, social, economic, and political capital and currency that already exists in the community.

Then, in years two and three, churches and neighborhoods will put their relationships and capital to work to realize the full potential of the neighborhood for all who live there. Learnings from the initiative will be documented and shared ...continued on p9 widely with churches and places of worship in any faith tradition setting.

The inaugural cohort of churches is comprised of four churches in Texas and four churches in Indianapolis, Indiana, all of which are being trained in the ABCD process, with the support of a learning community comprised of leaders from the participating churches and their neighborhoods. Texas Methodist Foundation is investing $80,000 in this initiative in its commitment to engage neighbors and community as part of a Spirit-led movement building thriving congregations and flourishing communities.

Participating Churches and Pastors in Texas

• Rev. Challis Bradford (Dallas)

• Rev. Stephen Goldsmith (Humble)

In Indianapolis, Indiana

• Rev. Jerry Davis

• Rev. Myron Duff, Jr.

• Rev. Rachel Metheny

• Rev. Deborah Lightfoot Oates

I’ve Got A Secret

Rev. Dr. Alfonso Wyatt, Columnist

• Rev. Sylvester Patton (Texas)

• Rev. Bryant X. Phelps (Desoto)

Can you recall when you were young and whispering a secret in a friend’s ear, and he or she had to pinky swear not to tell it to another living soul? Back then, secrets were generally fun and could strengthen friendships by creating a sense of trust. Giving or sharing secrets could set you apart from friends outside the I-know-something-you-don’t-know group. As children grow up and become complex adults, their secrets become more complex. At some point, everyone has held on to a secret. To be clear, some secrets are too embarrassing, too hurtful, too dark, too revealing—or too ridiculous to share. Nevertheless, we live in a time that feasts on secrets—the “juicier,” the better. People on television, radio, and social media are paid to dig up and divulge the inside scoop on the lives of celebrities.

In the early days of television, there was a TV show called “I’ve Got a Secret.” Celebrities would ask a series of questions in an attempt to guess the secret of the panelists. This show’s basic format lasted off and on for over 50 years. Advertisers today know that people from all walks of life have an insatiable need to know about celebrity secrets hence the plethora of Reality TV stars, gossip hosts, tabloid exposé reporters, paparazzi, trolls, and the like all making a living dredging up secrets (or what are suggested to be a secret).

Some people live secretive lives, holding their “life” cards close to their vest, as the saying goes. Any questions deemed too personal can be ignored or summarily dismissed. Why is this so? Some possible reasons could be a past “secret betrayal” and the leaked information caused shame, pain, or embarrassment. Another take is perhaps the secretive person’s personality is wired in a manner where their personal business is just that—personal at all costs. It is important to note that being secretive could be costly, as the following insights illustrate:

• A secretive person may lock out well-intentioned people not interested in sharing their secrets or judging them—they may just want to be a friend trying to help.

• A secretive person may unwittingly cut off information that could be helpful in situations ranging from sharing the secret ingredient of a recipe to identifying a potential life-changing/giving resource.

• A secretive person must always be on guard to

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