So is there a difference between 1) burning a book, or 2) throwing a book away?
My position is that you can never burn a book, but throwing a book away is acceptable (that doesn’t mean you should, of course). In other words, I could bring myself to throw a book away, but I could never burn one.
There is a substantial difference between the two. Burning is an act of destruction; when you throw something away, you’re really just relocating it. True, a book probably won’t do much good in the trash can, but consider this: when you burn something, you eliminate it permanently, whereas if you throw it out, there’s always the possibility that it might come into the possession of a third party. Therefore, in the latter option, there is no net change in the wealth of attainable knowledge. The same is not true in the case of burning a book.
I wonder if legislation that prohibited book burning would be a violation of the First Amendment. I could think of some pretty compelling reaons for the state to burden that right, if it is one anyway. Are there any meaningful differences between burning a flag and burning a book? If this doesn’t get people to comment, I don’t know what will!
Why all the fuss over this? No reason.
My position is that there is no significant difference between the act of burning a book and the act of throwing a book into the garbage. In either event, the intent of the act is essentially the same and both lead to destructive ends.
We all know what happens to a burned book, but what will happen to the “tossed” book?
A book thrown into a garbage will remain there until it is taken out to a dumpster, street/alley garbage to await the pick up of a garbage truck. The garbage truck will then pick up the book and compress it with the rest of the trash. The book will eventually find its final resting place in a landfill where it will decompose into the natural elements.
The chance of a “tossed” book being saved from the cycle of modern sanitation is minimal if any. There is practically no opportunity for human salvaging with the punctuality and precision of today’s sanitation system.
Also, the word “never” is too strong as used in the position, “One is never to burn a book”. Situations will of course arise that will justify burning a book. First, one is justified in incinerating a book when that heat created is essential to one’s survival.
The fundmental freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness would be lost if one could be charged with a federal crime for burning a book in order to stay warm.
There are limited times when burning a book might be more beneficial than harmful, as in sustaining a fire for essential heat.
“Never”, however, throw a book into the sanitation system because it derives no benefit no one and it is “never” to return.
Other options might be donating to a book drive, passing on to a friend, or even leaving books in public for someone to pick up(not the same as entering the cycle of sanitation). This leads to the next question, “is it littering to leave books in public? or is it sharing/educating?
What about deleting a digital book? That just opens a whole new can of worms…muahahahah.