No one can ban books in a free country. America was built on the founding principles of freedom, but how can it be considered a free country if people cannot even read or write what they want? If a book hurts your feelings, then do not read it. Allowing people to ban books simply because they are offended should not be normalized in America. No matter what political or social views one supports, a single faction’s feelings and personal bias should not be the deciding factor of an entire country’s right to free speech.
Banning books is a form of censorship used in schools, public libraries, and even online. Some may argue that, although they are called “banned books,” they are not truly banned altogether. They say you can still find them in some stores and a few public libraries as well as some websites online. As Ron Charles, in his article “Do we really still need Banned Books Week?” said during an interview with James LaRue, a columnist from the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association, “Books aren’t ‘banned’ in this country anymore; the Supreme Court made that impossible.” This is what many people use as their facts and it is a strong point, it is illegal to completely ban books. Meaning that Charles is not wrong; they are not truly banning books the way that people would think. Books that are banned are put on a list that is posted every year, and that list can be seen by the public. Some people will take these titles and decide they should be taken out of public libraries, schools, and even some book stores. The books are not illegal to read they are just taken away from people who cannot access them in those specific areas.
People who are unable to buy books need to be able to get them from somewhere; imagine a student writing a research paper on the history of the Holocaust and being unable to find that information at their school or public library, now they have less information and may not be able to write as good of a paper. For people who are not students writing papers, imagine you wanted to read a book for entertainment because it was recommended to you but your library does not carry it and the stores in your town and the ones online do not sell it because of the controversy of the book, now you are missing out on a book that would have been entertaining and possibly made you happier. If people cannot access a book anywhere but a public or school library, then such limitations take away literary freedom from them. One demographic heavily impacted by such bans is students. Banning books in schools takes away knowledge and access for students who do not have access to books elsewhere. Many schools in America ban books with themes that have been considered offensive by some people, who claim the books have racist or homophobic themes, while other books have been banned because of others who are religious, such as beliefs against intercourse before marriage and books with darker themes. Additionally, parents are a large contributor to the banned book issue. If there is a book they do not want their own children to read, they believe they should ban the book for every child in that school. Students should be able to get the book they are interested in from the school library if they want to.No one should be allowed to take knowledge away from another’s child, who wants to learn or explore their personal literary interests.
Although books are not banned on a national level, local book bans still neglect the First Amendment. The Founding Fathers wanted to make America a place where people could have their own opinion and not be silenced for having a voice. The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (US Const. amend. I). This amendment is to protect the American people’s voices from being ignored and allows us to have our differences. This means an author like J.K Rowling should be able to write a book about witchcraft without some people getting mad about black magic, and also be able to say her thoughts online without getting hate from others. Everyone should be allowed to read and write what they want without fearing their books ending up on the banned books list.
Living in a country of free speech should give everyone more opportunities to explore literature. People taking away our first amendment right affects many students and others negatively because they will not be able to experience the joy or knowledge they can get from a book. Students should be able to read what they want and have access to information that could be beneficial to their mental and emotional state. Not being allowed to read a book because people were offended by it is like not being able to eat meat because a vegan or vegetarian was offended by it; it is unfair to those who do not have the same beliefs as you. Banning books in America is wrong and should be fought against in our Justice system. People should stop banning books over being offended and start focusing on issues that are more serious in our country.
