It's hard to feel the need to expound on things that should matter to all of us in a more-perfect world, not just for one's own mental well-being, but for those who feel that we should be more optimistic.

Unfortunately, the world doesn't quite merit a lot of optimism at the moment, and though I am an optimist by nature, I'm also a realist: I hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

So many see their rights of free expression and association at risk, and it doesn't help that some in the media seem to have rolled over, perhaps in hopes they'll get a pass if/when a crackdown takes place. That feeling of liberties being curtailed is nothing new, unfortunately.

The American Library Association and Banned Books Week took a page from George Orwell's most famous work for this year's Banned Books Week theme: "Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights." Banned Books Week started Sunday and runs through Saturday.

Betsy Gomez wrote in the press release on the group's site: "Current efforts to ban books and information held in schools, libraries, archives, and bookstores are a truth close to fiction--namely, the depiction of extreme censorship by an oppressive regime in George Orwell's cautionary and prescient tale '1984.' The Banned Books Week 2025 theme reminds us that the right........

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