This was my Newswithviews column for Jan. 29, 2015.
http://newswithviews.com/Duigon/lee287.htm
Why can’t these people leave us alone? Always pontificating about what we should or shouldn’t think, should or shouldn’t be allowed to say, should or shouldn’t be allowed to read–but they are not better than us and they are certainly not wiser than us.
Historical novels, if they are written in good faith, thoroughly researched, and as accurate in their depiction of the past as it is humanly possible to make them, can help us understand the past. Not just know about it, but actually to understand it.
Once upon a time on the radio I heard two Intellectuals complaining about “a bunch of truck drivers” reading history and getting ideas above their station. We should be content to be spoon-fed by Our Betters–
Eeyah! Basta! No more of this!
Because Our Betters most definitely are not our betters.