Book banning: A waste of time?

Think about the thing that can take you anywhere, at any time – a cherished source of entertainment for thousands of years, yet also the average household item: a book.

 

Today, society is drastically and suddenly taking away our right to read with the act of book banning. This can erase pivotal historical texts and silence those who don’t conform to book banners’ worldviews.

 

Books like “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “1984,” “In Cold Blood,” and countless other works are being targeted. These are historic classics representing revolutionary pieces of literature.

 

Generations of students before us read these, and it’s an unpleasant thought to think of the possibility that students won’t continue to see or even know of these books.

 

A big question is: why were they tried and/or banned?

 

Those who support banning certain books raise concerns regarding topics such as sex, LGBTQIA+, race, profanity, violence, political messages, and more. Sheltering the entire community from these topics is ridiculous, and the reality is that you can’t get through any book without finding controversy.

 

According to The American University School of Education, “Book banning negatively impacts student learning outcomes by restricting access to diverse perspectives essential for intellectual growth,” adding, “controversial literature is vital in developing critical thinking skills, encouraging students to analyze complex themes, challenge societal norms, and engage in meaningful discussions.”

 

In other words, there is no way to avoid the hard topics in order to gain a full perspective.

 

Censorship of literature also conflicts with the First Amendment. One of the best examples is to reflect on our past.

 

According to “Book Bans in the United States: History Says it All,” the author states, “One of the first instances of controlling students’ access to books was after the Civil War. The Southern United States restricted access to textbooks that painted the South’s intentions and actions poorly amid the Civil War.” From my research, this example shows how limiting access to books can manipulate what people should think - which results only in marginalizing a fraction of society.

 

You might ask, is this act of taking away books even effective? 

 

In most cases, the answer is no. Taking them away results in the natural human trait of curiosity. This can sometimes even result in putting such books in the spotlight.

 

Thinking realistically, taking away a book for controversy isn’t stopping anything. There’s still limitless violent video games, questionable internet searches, movies, and magazines; as the years go on, more and more biased sources are becoming easily available to children every day.

 

In my own experience, the banning of books negatively impacted our school’s best unit: our true crime unit. The book was “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote – a book about the mystery and manhunt surrounding a family of four brutally murdered in the comfort of their own safe Kansas town.

 

Of course, in a book with such content, there were to be some sort of violent topics, but overall it was an astonishing work of writing. Honestly, I never knew the real reason why it was removed, but the book and unit of true crime quickly came to an end. I enjoyed that unit because it was so interesting and unlike any other unit we had learned about in a classroom.

 

Classmate Izzy Martin agrees. “I think we should’ve at least finished the book to teach us text analysis skills that we could have used later in the year. Due to ending it short, the time we spent reading ‘In Cold Blood’ was wasted because we were not allowed to finish the book.”

 

Another book with a proud title of America’s best-loved novel is “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. This classic isn’t banned by the state education department in South Carolina, but unfortunately, some school districts in the states of Virginia, Mississippi, and California have challenged it.

 

The book undertakes so many topics that most people are scared to talk about, such as racism, prejudice, family, revenge, courtroom wrongs, and so much more. It shows the harm of explicit and implicit racism amid a sleepy Southern town during the Great Depression.

 

Student Finley Mcready weighed the options of book banning. “If you are reading or learning these books in school, nothing should be blocked out because it may be important to the story. I get why some parents may want books to be banned – to protect their kids – but I say if you don’t want your kid reading a certain book, just don’t let them read it, and still give other kids the chance to read it.”

 

Fellow student Ruby MacGloan noted that bans limit reading choices, saying, “If kids want to read something, and it’s not available at a public library, that parent now needs to go out and buy it for them.”

 

In conclusion, banning books limits our right to read and tries to control the stories we hear. Books like “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “1984” are essential for understanding different human experiences.

 

Blocking access to challenging topics prevents future generations from learning from history. Instead of avoiding difficult conversations, we should embrace them.