Editing literature to conform to current custom

[dicentra63]

Sometimes I watch Antiques Roadshow, a program that originated in the
U.K. and that was brought over here (U.S.) with great success.

The underlying assumption in AR is that original condition is valued
above all: if the table has the original finish, it's worth much more
than if you sanded it down and finished it to match the rest of the
kitchen woodwork.  You've got to have the original box for the toy,
and the original frame for the painting, or the value goes down
drastically.

This is because the items in question are valued for their
historicity: an identical item created two years ago, even if the
workmanship is of the same quality, doesn't even come close to scoring
a Big Price.

Just So Stories with the original language is valuable from a
historical standpoint, just like the table with the original finish. 
Even if the table's finish doesn't look very good anymore, Leigh and
Leslie Keno will love you forever if you don't touch it.  

Just So Stories with the amended language is more valuable from a
practical standpoint.  If what you value are the stories themselves,
not their historicity, it makes more sense to sand off the crummy
finish and make the table look good again, so you can use it in
everyday settings.

I do agree that amended texts should be labeled as such, from the
standpoint of integrity.  But I don't believe that an artist's words
are sacred (historical, yes; sacred, no). If they were, just about
everything we do on the main list is sacrilege because we're
interpreting a "sacred" text to our own ends (and isn't the Bible
subjected to that kind of thing every day?).  Besides, I challenge you
to find a text that an author wouldn't like another shot at, just to
touch up a couple of things.

And, as David said, the meaning of an unchanged text changes anyway,
because of the way language and culture change.  The N-word may not
ever have been polite language, but the concept behind it was more
socially acceptable in Kipling's day than it is now.

I'd rather see the word changed in books marketed for children.  
They'll learn about the N-word soon enough on the street.  In books
marketed as classics, leave it unchanged.

--Dicentra, who was going to write exactly what Elkins wrote, verbatim