Huckleberry Finn Rewrite?

It amazes me that educators, writers and reporters are hashing out this continued controversy regarding the use of the n-word in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  A NewSouth's Books edition wants to replace all 219 uses of the n-word with the s-word (slave), as if it conjures up better thoughts than the n-word.  This classic piece of American literature should remain in its original form for many reasons.  Why would we even contemplate the sanitizing of what Twain wrote?  I have children and I want them to read the original version so that they can get a better understanding of society during that time.  I want them to be able to have open discussions regarding the friendship between Joe and Huck Finn.

I think our country has gone overboard with "political correctness".  The n-word as well as other racial slurs have been targeted towards me as well many other African Americans for years; it continues to this day.  I am thankful that my children have not had to endure  the pain to the extent that I have but I definitely want them to know that pain existsed and continues to exist in many areas of this country in 2011.

Huckleberry Finn and numerous other books should have never been removed from many public school libraries.  Even while reading the constitution to the  112th US Congress this week, certain sections were left out which discussed slavery and a number of other topics that were not considered politically correct.  Let our young people read literature like Huck Finn, have discussions with teachers/families and make critical decisions about the content on their own with guidance from the people who care for them.  Who's afraid of the truth anyway?  I would love to know!

To learn more, read the Clarence Page article in the Chicago Tribunes:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-oped-0109-page-20110109,0,2376473.column