Reading is a Virtue: Or How My Intellectual Friends and I came with the Conclusion of Reading Truly Between the Lines

(The Baudelaire Family Library before being burned down)

The Interest of Deciding to Write this Article (and the reason why I also
capitalized those letters) is due to one of my intellectual peers and an article he (R.C. is how I'll refer to him) wrote.

His Article dealt with the reasons behind why the Free Speech movement was heading in the wrong direction by citing examples like how Tommy Robinson wasn't a martyr for the Free Speech Movement and how his actions are more of a call to monetary arms for him and the recent NLF scandal in dealing with dissenting football policies on dealing with those who kneel but instead, tampering with the NLF teams chances at victory.

But when he posted these opinions on the forum we are a part of, He was met with sharp calls for the main administrator of the forum to censor and ban his article. (Luckily he's acquainted with both of us and he had refused to delete the blog post) But the irony was laid bare. Even though Freedom of Speech is eternally a human right, It's ok to censor in private settings.

But prior to this, RC and I had discussed one of my favorite authors (his too), Lemony Snicket. You Might know him for A Series of Unfortunate Events, a Book series focused on the Baudelaire Orphans as they travel guardian to guardian to escape the clutches of their "probably not 3rd cousin 4 times removed or 4th cousin 3 times removed" Count Olaf. But Snicket has a very clever motif and its application in the series as well as its importance to us in everyday life: reading and libraries.


(Justice Strauss' Library in the TV Series)

Reading is a considered virtue in each book and a library is a constant motif with all kinds of libraries being featured to solve some kind of problem in the series. In The Reptile Room, Klaus reads books on Snakes and one, in particular, helps deal with (Spoiler Alert though it's often alluded to at the beginning of the book.) the Murder of Uncle Monty Montgomery. And each library has its own theme behind it like Justice Strauss' Judicial Library in The Bad Begining, The Grammar Library of Aunt Josephine's in The Wide Window, The Library of Records at Heimlich Hospital seen in The Hostile Hospital, and (the most elaborate of them all) The Arboretum Library on the mysterious island in The End.

Snicket emphasizes how only evil people don't read and Count Olaf sure does not read. He doesn't pick up a book and has had little interest in a book. In the TV series, his library is bare and it looks like all he does is drink.










(The Daily Punctilio Headline in the first 2 episodes of ASoUE)

But even this means naught for Snicket adds a little more depth to the mix than just claiming that we should read. The primary example is due to the mistakes and lack of journalistic integrity in The Daily Punctilio. The Daily Punctilio is a newspaper styled like The New York Times (their motto: All the News in Fits of Print is a parody of the NYT's motto: All the News that Fits to Print) and The Washington Post and other such newspapers, but the Punctilio has no editors to fix any mistakes and choses sensationalist articles over truth and honesty in the papers. Yet in both the Books and the TV series, everyone takes the words for facts. The main instigator of such articles is Geraldine Julienne, a woman who I hate so much but yet hasn't appeared in the TV series yet. (It seems Elanora Poe is taking her place. But Elanora in the books is Mr. Athur Poe's [Banker and in charge of the affairs of the Baudelaires] sister. Instead, she's a combination of Elanora (Head of Staff at The Daily Punctilio) and Polly Poe (Mr. Poe's wife in the Books) Also it should be noted that Punctilio is a word which here means a petty point of conduct or procedure, which fits perfectly with how the newspaper is done. Now, this would be perfect to avoid and would have no trouble ... if everyone didn't get their news and only read this newspaper as their only reliable source of information. Everyone reads this newspaper and no one seems to question what they have read even when the Baudelaries are later made out to be murderers by the paper and let Count Olaf and his crimes go free.


(Aunt Josephine's Libary in the TV series)

But it's a very important lesson for others and myself with reading all types of stories as well as opinions as much as we can. We all know we live in a politically divided time (then again, aren't most time's politically divided so the phrase is just pretty useless) and as you know this even goes with making it hard for ourselves to talk about reading and hearing what the enemy has to say.

As you all know, my political opinions are among 3 philosophical/economic schools in general: Objectivism, Libertarianism, and Classical Liberalism. All 3 have similar bases but their fundamentals are quite different with what is promoted. Objectivism is primarily focused as a full philosophy to give guidance and examine the world in. Libertarianism is more politically motivated rather than a moral/ethical philosophy. Because people from different philosophical and religious backgrounds can still support Libertarianism. Then with Classical Liberalism, it's similar to Libertarianism but there is more of an ethical background in the various philosophers and thinkers of the Enlightenment. 


But I can't just rely purely on all Objectivist sources. If I did, it'd make me no more dogmatic than the people I claim to be arguing against. One of my other friends from the same intellectual forum (Boris) had also this to say about the difficulties of being Libertarian.

To Paraphrase: "Unlike the Republican or the Democrat who only have to read theirs and then their opponents' works, (that is the rational ones) The Libertarian must-read not only their own sources, but both Democrat and Republican sources to even more critically understand the politi-sphere."

We all need to step back a little and read things we don't like and try to give an open ear. It may not be at least fruitful to us but it does help us grow into better people. That's what we need today. And if we just reason it out, then what have we to lose but our argument.

So even though the original intent of Snicket's quote would be to read books of any genre, I can also say this is very sound advice for even us in a politicking world.