The episode begins as the discussants share their reactions to the current trend of censorship by the Western Liberal establishment. Proffesor Juni shares the current “They are coming for us” atmosphere pervading the world of academia in the wake of Cancel Culture by the Woke, where the tribunal of hearsay and constructive narrative reigns unchallenged....

....Juni raises the specter of outright book banning and book burnings which have consistently characterized fascist anti-freedom regimes. He goes on to stress that censoring of unacceptable aspects of literature and art results in distorted caricatures of the real world, with all its has inherent faults and inadequacies , as a fictionalized ideal. As such, he continues, society and children profit from having different works from non-PC authors with alternate perspectives....

.... Rabbi Kivelevitz predicts that progressive values inevitably upgrade, which means that today’s condemners will themselves surely be censored soon by upcoming gatekeepers who will point out the inadequacies of today's flawless idealists.....

..... Juni expounds on the idea that Child Development is a relatively new field In Psychology, since children were viewed merely as miniature adults until recently. Children’s toys are very new social phenomena, as is the idea that children have different needs, mentalities, and thought processes. As such, Fairy Tales were actually brutal stories intended to keep children in line by thinly disguised threats of horrors should they misbehave – much like rumors which were politically stoked among adults by the powers-that-be to keep them under control. Kivelevitz offers remarkable facets of classic fairy tales in the original versions before they were sanitized by Disney and others...... On the psychological level, traditional fairy tale legends are portrayed as relating to hopes, fears, success, and failure in life’s challenges, while more contemporary fantasy books are designed to the mastery of disturbing emotions, to promoting prosocial behavior, to encourage thinking out of the box, and to instill a respect for interpersonal differences....

....As Juni sees it, Children's Literature should encourage exploration of feelings without fear of censure Kivelevitz concurs

and points out that parents may be doing a disservice to their children by reading rigidly a whole as written book to their child, rather than just a small section and getting the child’s reactions and expectations of what might happen, what could happen, and what should happen next. .........

Doctor Samuel Juni is one of the foremost research psychologists in the world today. He has published groundbreaking original research in seventy different peer reviewed journals, and is cited continuously with respect by colleagues and experts in the field who have built on his theories and observations. Samuel Juni studied in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin under Rav Yitzchack Hutner, and in Yeshiva University as a Talmid of Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchick. Professor Juni is a prominent member of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, and has regularly presented addresses to captivated audiences. Associated with NYU since 1979, Juni has served as Director of MA and PhD programs, all the while heading teams engaged in important research. Professor Juni's scholarship on aberrant behavior across the cultural, ethnic, and religious spectrum is founded on psychometric methodology and based on a psycho-dynamic psychopathology perspective. He is arguably the preeminent expert in Differential Diagnostics, with each of his myriad studies entailing parallel efforts in theory construction and empirical data collection from normative and clinical populations. Professor Juni created and directed NYU's Graduate Program in Tel Aviv titled Cross-Cultural Group Dynamics in Stressful Environments. Based in Yerushalayim, he collaborates with Israeli academic and mental health specialists in the study of dissonant factors and tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict and those within the Orthodox Jewish community, while exploring personality challenges of second-generation Holocaust survivors. Below is a partial list of the journals to which Professor Juni has contributed over 120 articles. Many are available on line Journal of Forensic Psychology Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma. International Review of Victimology The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease International Forum of Psychoanalysis Journal of Personality Assessment Journal of Abnormal Psychology Journal of Psychoanalytic Anthropology Psychophysiology Psychology and Human Development Journal of Sex Research Journal of Psychology and Judaism Contemporary Family Therapy American Journal on Addictions Journal of Criminal Psychology Mental Health, Religion & Culture As Rosh Beis Medrash, Rabbi Avraham Kivelevitz serves as Rav and Posek for the morning minyan at IDT. Hundreds of listeners around the globe look forward to his weekly Shiur in Tshuvos and Poskim. Rav Kivelevitz is a Maggid Shiur for Dirshu International in Talmud and Halacha as well as a Dayan with the Beth Din of America. Please leave us a review or email us at [email protected] This podcast has been graciously sponsored by JewishPodcasts.fm. There is much overhead to maintain this service so please help us continue our goal of helping Jewish lecturers become podcasters and support us with a donation: https://thechesedfund.com/jewishpodcasts/donate