March 16: the Day of the Book Smugglers

March 16^th is celebrated to commemorate the Lithuanian book smugglers. A group of brave and ingenious individuals defied a ban and created an underground smuggler network to preserve the Lithuanian language. The ban resulted from Soviet occupation and sough, through militaristic efforts, to enforce Russification including a mandate that the Latin alphabet be replaced with the Cyrillic alphabet (Schwartz, 2015). It is one story of how a people refused to have their culture and their identity wiped away. The Book Smugglers became a symbol of Lithuania resistance to Russification. What were the series of events which led to the need to preserve their language? Who were the most famous figures of the smuggling networks? How are they remembered today?  

After the Polish-Lithuanian insurrection of 1863, Russia intensified efforts to Russify the Lithuanian populations and alienate it from its historic roots, including the Roman Catholic faith. In 1866, Tsar Alexander II issued a ban on printing or importing printed matter in Lithuania in hopes to eradicate the native language (Schwartz, 2015). The book smugglers, including Motiejus Valancius, the Bishop of Zemaitija and Jurgis Bielinis, organized efforts to print and distribute Lithuanian language texts throughout the country. When one system was exposed, 5 priests and 2 book smugglers were exiled to Siberia (Schwartz, 2015); however, another network would quickly be in its place. By the 1900s, it was obvious the ban had failed, and the policy was officially lifted in 1904 and completely abolished following the Russian defeat during the Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905). It is estimated that between 30,000-40,000 books were smuggled annually with only one-third being seized by authorities.

As mentioned above, Motiehus Valancius (1801-1875) was the Bishop of Zemaitija. He made every effort to undermine the Russification and the tactics used to enforce the government’s policies. He is especially known for his efforts to finance the printing and distribution of books in the Lithuanian language. He would organize “the first large-scale attempt to smuggle books across the Lithuanian border” (Waters, 2017). Jurgis Bielinis (1846-1918) was one of the main organizers and most famous book smuggler. He is informally referred to as the King of Book Carriers (Waters, 2017) as he was active for 32 years and while he had been arrested five times, he was never tried or sentenced which helped him develop a folk hero reputation. To avoid being caught, he rarely stayed in more than one place for long, living a nomadic life moving from one sympathetic family to another. Juozas Masiulis, one of the book smugglers, opened his own bookstore in 1905 once the ban was lifted.

The book smugglers became an important part of the Lithuanian National Revival following the dissolution of the Soviet union, and were honored with museums, monuments and street names. There is a special relationship of Lithuanians and books that can be seen in the Vilnius Book Fair, a highly popular event which is held every February. After Lithuania gained its independence following the Russia Revolution (8 March 1917 – 16 June 1923), the people built a statue in then-capital of Kaunas, dedicated to “The Unknown Book Smuggler” (Schwartz, 2015). Jurgis Beilinis’ birthday, March 16, was chosen as the commemoration date for the Day of the Book Smugglers. In 1988, the Lithuanian Knygnešiai Association was established at the Lithuanian Culture Foundation. Among its goals was to collect information about all Lithuanian book smugglers and printers. In 1997, the "Book Smugglers' Wall” was unveiled at the Vytautas, the Great War Museum.

In conclusion, March 16^th is a day of celebration in Lithuania as they honor the courageous and brave Lithuanians who risked their lives in order to preserve their culture heritage in their language and their books. A Catholic bishop, Motiehus Valancius organized a network of book smugglers as well as other activities in the fight against Russian occupation. Jurgis Bielinis is a folk hero, a smuggler who was active for 32 years and avoided severe punishments. Juozas Masiulis, another book smuggler, became a bookstore owner once the ban was lifted. Lithuania has built numerous monuments to honor and remember the bravery of the book smugglers. Let’s join Lithuania as they honor and remember these brave individuals.

References

Schwartz, Dana (March 30, 2015). The Fascinating History of Lithuania’s Day of the Book Smugglers. Mental Floss. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/62554/fascinating-history-lithuanias-day-book-smugglers. Retrieved March 10, 2020.

Waters, Michael (July 19, 2017). The 19th-Century Lithuanians Who Smuggled Books to Save Their Language. Atlas Obscura. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/lithuanian-book-smugglers. Retrieved March 10, 2020.

Is it the game or the parenting?

                Like most children of the 1980s, I grew up playing video games. We had the Nintendo NES and we played the now classic games: Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, and Duck Hunt just to name of few. With the rise in school shootings, video games have come under fire for their source of violence. Video games have been studied since the 1980s and no concrete evidence has come to light that points directly to video games as the source of the rise in violence. Many lawmakers including Senator Diane Feinstein are pushing for the video game industry to voluntarily avoid glorifying guns and gun violence and if they are unwilling to so do, Congress is ready to take action (Huffington Post 4/4/2013). I don’t advocated banning video games because when you do so, you just create a black market for it and when someone wants the banned item, they will get it. We saw that with the Cold War when East Germany banned Western music, East German still were listening to it. Prohibition is another example of banning an item does not get rid of the desire for the item.

                Unfortunately, the evidence that points to video games as the increase in violence is correlational at best. One study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research stated that when accounting for pre-existing emotional, family and social issues, any aggression-increasing effects of playing violent video games had disappeared. Another study published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence stated that current findings did not support the popular belief that violent video games increase aggression in youths. Federal crime statistics actually show that serious violent crimes among youths have decreased since 1996 while video game sales have increased. It would be hard to find a young man who did not play games at all. According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) in 2011, the average gamer is 30 years old with 12 years playing experience. 82% of gamers are 18 and older, 42% are women 18 and older and 29% are over 50. The majority of gamers aren’t youths at all, they are adults!

                The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has a rating system similar to the film ratings which notify the consumer of the maturity level based on the content:

·         Early Childhood (EC): young children

·         Everyone (E): minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and or infrequent use of mild language

·         Everyone 10+ (E 10+): same as Everyone rating but more suitable for players 10 and older

·         Teen (T): violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling and or infrequent use of strong language, suitable for 13 and older

·         Mature (M): intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and or strong language, suitable for 17 and older)

·         Adults Only (AO): prolonged scenes of intense violence, graphic sexual content and or gambling with real currency, restricted to those 18 and older.

However, the ratings only work when parents pay attention to or even care about the content. I’ve seen many children who have games that their parents gave them that they probably shouldn’t have. But if the parents allow them to play the game, who am I to tell them that they can’t have it?

                In the book, Everything Bad Is Good for You, Steven Johnson challenges the popular belief that video games are a mind-numbing addiction. According to Johnson, video games demand more from players than most traditional board games. Players have to determine objectives and how to achieve them, learn the controls and navigating and eventually mastering a highly complex system with countless variables. I know personally that many games especially role playing games (RPGs) are very complex. I’ve started many and only finished a few. My brother, who is an avid player, will take months to finish one game because of all the extra side journeys a character can take outside of the main quest. He will often play the game again, changing even one decision will alter the game play and change the course the character will experience. RPGs requires strong analytical ability, strong flexibility and adaptability and strong patience and focus. Johnson also challenges the popular perception that video games give instant gratification when in fact because many RPGs take so long to complete, it may actually delay gratification. Some RPGs I’ve seen are actually designed to never truly be over because of the different quests one can take.

                Bottom line is parents need to be aware of what their children are being exposed to whether it’s video games, television, music, etc. And if they don’t approve or they see the type of effect the exposure has, restrict their access. I know it’s easier said than done but better to attempt to do something than face the questions later. I can think of a few examples where my mom didn’t approve of what was on T.V. and restricted it but we still watched it when she was gone. It is easier today than it was 30 years ago to set parental controls to ensure that children follow their parents’ viewing restrictions. Unfortunately, we live in a fallen where evil will always exists and we need to be diligent. No solution is going to completely solve the problems, Individuals who have predisposition for violence will find other outlets and enact violence on others. Video games have been in American home since 1975 with the popularity of Atari and I think they are here to stay.