And the Bill of Rights isn't working very well these days, is it? Not with libraries banning books left and right - especially books about Black and queer people. Some town councils and other governing boards are even de-funding libraries so they don't have to stock books they don't like. According to PEN America, more book titles are banned today in libraries across the country than at any time in our history. Neither Amazon nor interlibrary loans are the answer to library bans.

As far as the Islamic world goes, I live in the U.S., and don't aspire to live just a little more freely than people in some other country. I don't want to have a little more freedom to read than people in Qatar or Saudi Arabia. I want to enjoy the full benefits of my inheritance of the U.S. Bill of Rights. I want libraries to top banning books.

That's not a lot to ask.