Did you know that John Locke’s birthday is August 29th? For this reason, Individual Rights Day is celebrated on the 29th.th. And the reason I decided to make this the subject of my latest library column is the influence that the philosophies and writings of John Locke had on the founding of the United States of America.
I’ll start with some background on Locke. Born on August 29, 1632 in Wrington, Somerset, England, John Locke is considered one of the most influential philosophers and thinkers of the Enlightenment. He is often referred to as the “Father of Liberalism” and his thoughts and writings greatly influenced the Founding Fathers of the United States when they sat down to write the Declaration of Independence. His most famous writings include “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” in which he discusses his theory of human identity and the self, and “Two Treatises of Government,” in which Locke argues against patriarchalism (or quite simply: monarchy) and outlines the theory of civil society.
Rather than try to delve too deeply into Locke’s many philosophies, I encourage you to read them yourself if you feel like it, and instead move on to one final interesting fact about human rights. Did you know that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, drafted by representatives from every region of the world and proclaimed at the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948, is the most translated document in the world, having been translated into at least 370 languages? On August 29,thdo your own research on individual rights, the Enlightenment, John Locke, the United Nations, or anything else this column about another random holiday might have piqued your interest in.
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New library opening hours:
- Central/Historic Center
- Monday – Thursday, 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
- Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
- Saturday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- Benton
- Monday – Thursday, 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
- Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
- Haughton
- Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
- Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
- Aulds/East 80/Easy handling/Tooke
- Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Library locations:
- Aulds Branch 318.742.2337
- Benton Branch 318.965.2751
- Central Library 318.746.1693
- Branch East 80 318.949.2665
- Haughton Branch 318.949.0196
- History Center 318.746.7717
- Plain Dealing Branch 318.326.4233
- Tooke Branch 318.987.3915
New and coming soon:
- Angel of Vengeance: A Pendergast Novel by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (fiction; book, eBook, eAudiobook)
- Catherine, Princess of Wales: A biography of the future queen by Robert Jobson (biography; book)
- Gender explained: A new understanding of identity in a gender-creative world by Diane Ehrensaft, Michelle Jurkiewicz; Foreword by Stephen M. Rosenthal (nonfiction; book)
- It came from the trees by Ally Russell (children’s novel; book)
- Lady Macbeth: A Novel by Ava Reid (fiction; book, eAudiobook)
- Let’s make lunch: recipes prepared with love for everyone by Sulhee Jessica Woo (Non-fiction; Book)
- McMillion$: The Absolutely True Story of How an Unusual Pair of FBI Agents Uncovered the Biggest Fraud in Fast Food History by James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte (nonfiction; book)
- Men called her crazy: A memoir by Anna Marie Tendler (autobiography; book)
- The Mirror of the Mind: Risk and Reward in the Age of AI by Daniela Rus and Gregory Mone (non-fiction; book)
- On the sidelines: The art of risking everything by Nate Silver (nonfiction; book)
- Peaceful Kitchen: Over 100 cozy plant-based recipes that soothe the body and nourish the soul by Catherine Perez (non-fiction; book)
- What to cook when you don’t feel like cooking by Caroline Chambers (non-fiction; book, eBook)
- When wishes were horses by Cynthia Voigt (children’s novel; book)
