Books should not be banned
Literature has long since existed in our world dating back to Mesopotamia in 3200 BC, when people first codified laws into stone tablets. Nowadays, literature is everywhere you look, both in the more traditional published works, and in the writing of scripts for movies, video games, and even talk shows. With this influx in literature, however, has come an unceasing upturn in the banning of books. Many are surprised to find that these banned books are also some of the most famous, To Kill a Mockingbird, Fahrenheit 451, and Of Mice and Men being a few examples.
In America, recent book banning has largely been the result of rising tensions without out two-party system, who often disagree about what public schools should teach. Texas, Florida, Missouri, Utah, and South Carolina have the highest number of banned books, and often not-so-subtly, target books about minority groups such as people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
According to Pen America, accessing book titles is often prohibited while texts are being reviewed for banning, which prevents students from being able to engage with important topics, blocking them from stories that might be able to help them come to understand grief, health and wellness, as well as violence or abuse in their own terms.
The books under investigation often confront racism, slavery, and the violent historical lens that looks beyond a White narrative. Other banned topics include natural bodily processes such as puberty, periods, and other changes that occur within adolescent bodies. There are seldom formal evaluations of the material to see if it is genuinely problematic; instead, these titles are simply pulled away from young people who desperately need narratives that explain life’s questions through narrative.
According to data from Word Rated: Banned Book Statistics, in 2021 alone, 1,597 unique titles were challenged, a 484.98% increase from the previous year.
The problem with book banning is that taking away the violence, historical background, and limiting people of diversity, does not change the daily life of students. They are still experiencing school shootings, they are still facing discrimination, abuse, and so many more things that lawmakers could not even imagine and that is often exacerbated on the widespread reach of the internet.
I will acknowledge that some books are age sensitive, however, to completely ban books from courses because they show the violent side of racism, slavery, or show death is inappropriate. Books often have age ratings on them to categorize what age kids should be able to comprehend and process the content in the book, and if the educator is concerned they can decide to review it or pick another book that has similar but more grade appropriate scenes. Banning books does not ban violence; children will encounter these topics and challenges at some point in their life whether directly or indirectly and banning books really just sets aside the inevitable.
Books have the ability to provide autonomy as well as empowerment to individuals at a stage where independence is incredibly important developmentally and emotionally. It is what allows different perspectives to come to life instead of remaining in boxes. It also preserves cultural and historical records, even those that may be considered controversial, and provide valuable insights into the history, culture, and social dynamics of a particular time or place. Banning them can lead to the loss of important cultural heritage: people from previous generations need to stop limiting the experiences of those who follow.
Thumbnail via Wikimedia Commons