Look, this isn’t an anti-book or anti-intellectual thing. I mean, as an idea taster, I love books and thoughts! But libraries are anachronistic, aka they don’t belong in our time.
Libraries provide three functions:
- A repository of knowledge
- A place to better yourself
- A community center
The first one is just silly in the age of the internet. I mean I literally have every classic on my phone and can access almost any book for free using eLibraries. “But what about holding the physical book?” I hear the elites snobbishly cry. Well that is a luxury now. If you want a physical book, you can buy it yourself. Tax-payers shouldn’t be buying your dead-trees.
I actually do like the idea that libraries are great places to better oneself. This is almost a reasonable argument. Almost. Imagine you are interviewing a surgeon, no, let’s make it less extreme, a tailor. All else being equal, would you want a self-taught library trained tailor? Or one that attended a prestigious institution in Italy? We only have a single life – those that only educate themselves at their local libraries are fools. And don’t give me that: but libraries are free and schools are expensive. Phooey! Any one can get a student loan and attend university. Stop making this my problem, its yours.
Finally, a communal meeting place…. Ah how nice! Like a spa? No. Oh, like a nice conference hall? Nope. Perhaps a trendy coffee shop? Ha…. no. Instead you get a smelly conference room littered with trash and filled with grumpy librarians who don’t like my choice in image searches (dead octopuses, fyi).
Now instead of spending millions of dollars on a stupid building that will look like a soviet prison camp a year after opening, we could give a tax break. Or spend the money on school lunches for all kids. Or properly fund the police and stop having officers police traffic (thanks guys – feelin real safe now).
Some of you are not convinced. Well whatever. I don’t need you to agree. I need you to stop paying for something you don’t use. Vote for your wallet and get rid of public libraries.
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