“This book is a product of its time and does not reflect the same values as it would if it were written today.”—Wilder Publishing Disclaimer in the book The Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of Confederation
The editors at Wilder inserted the above disclaimer to express the publisher’s collectivist views regarding the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Copies of the Wilder paperback are being sold on Amazon.com.
To add insult to injury, the politically correct editors go on to say:
“Parents might wish to discuss with their children how views on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and interpersonal relations have changed since this book was written before allowing them to read this classic work.”
It would seem that Wilder editors regard the Founding documents as harmful to children who have not had the proper PC indoctrination and sensitivity training classes from America’s public educators. Yesterday on Fox News Channel’s America Live, host Megyn Kelly spoke with correspondent Trace Gallagher who had contacted the publishing company for a response to the controversy:
“We specialize in classic books and we were receiving complaints about the values depicted in some of the books. We wrote the disclaimer so that we could stop having to point out to our readers that people held different values 100 or 200 years ago.”—Warren Lapine of Wilder Publishing
As long as men desire personal freedom and individual liberty from the tyranny of the state, the values of the Founders will transcend time and will never be outdated. The collectivist values expressed by Wilder Publishing fail to account for the worth, dignity, and rights of the individual. Try as they might, Wilder cannot destroy those timeless values with a disclaimer!
I am insulted … I am offended …
I.M. Kane
Note: For more on the story about Wilder’s disclaimer on the U.S. Constitution, see Publisher Provides Disclaimer With U.S. Constitution, Will Media Notice? and WTF? OMG. Constitution, Declaration now come with a disclaimer….
Below is a transcript of the exchange between Megyn Kelly and Trace Gallagher on America Live:
MEGYN KELLY: Well, a reprint of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence stirring up a heated controversy. The publisher apparently feeling that it’s [sic] pamphlet, reprinting these documents, needs a warning label about values. Trace Gallagher reports live in our west coast newsroom. Trace.
TRACE GALLAGHER: At the end of America Live, we just like to get people riled up, Megyn, we think this will probably do the trick. You know, we started researching this story this morning. We went on to Amazon.com and right next to the title, where it says the U.S. Constitution, somebody typed in ‘shame on you for adding this disclaimer.’ Amazon.com, by the way, has taken that down.
But if you buy a copy of the U.S. Constitution on Amazon.com, what you will get is a disclaimer that says, and I’m quoting the following here, ‘This book is a product of its time, and does not reflect the same values as it would if it were written today. Parents might wish to discuss with their children how views on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and interpersonal relations have changed since this book was written before allowing them to read this classic work.’
So, of course, we called the publishing company, it’s Wilder Publishing. We called them, we emailed them, and we finally got a response and we have it right here. And the response is the following: ‘This is a generic warning that we put on all of our books. It was not our intention to tell people how to interpret the U.S. Constitution. We specialize in classic books and we were receiving complaints about the values depicted in some of the books. We wrote the disclaimer so that we could stop having to point out to our readers that people held different values 100 or 200 years ago.’ He ends by saying ‘It seems we’re dammed if we do and dammed if we don’t.’
KELLY: Oh, Warren.
GALLAGHER: That’s the response from Wilder. Warren Lapine of Wilder Publishing.
KELLY: You know, it’s one thing when you republish ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover,’ its [sic] another when you slap that thing on the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Well-
GALLAGHER: Warning children.
