I think there are people in this world that think censorship is for the greater good. Well good for you. I disagree. I think that banning and burning books has a numbing effect. After it happens a frew dozen times, no one will notice or care anymore. There is one parish that is taking censorship and throwing it out the window. They are trying to get a ton of people reading the same book at the same time. The best part about this is, what book it is.
It is among the greatest books of the 20th century, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.
But this book also received a more dubious honor. It currently sits at No. 41 on the American Library Association’s list of the top 100 most challenged or banned books of the 20th century. The very existence of such a list offers insight into an absurd mindset that ought not endure in America nor should it have endured as long as it has. There are those who believe some books are so dangerous they should be restricted by some arbitrary body or banned entirely. They wish to enforce a policy whose only outcome is ignorance because some ideas make them uncomfortable.
This parish has picked a book that they know has shown conroversy in the past and they want to show that although there may be some bad parts throughout, they are not going to let a couple of swear words and talk of rape make them not read one of the best books written. I think my favorite part about this entire article is what the parish and the writer think about people rebeling about this text:
Reading and studying the written word is an inherently beautiful process. It exposes a person to a broad spectrum of ideas that would otherwise remain hidden and allows for the development of analytical reasoning. A child who reads, even when tackling books that may be difficult or contain harsh ideas, will inevitably become a more intelligent and more well-rounded person than one who does not. And books containing harsh or idiotic ideas can be used as a tangible teaching tool through which a child can learn which thoughts are proper and which are not. They can then learn if a book offends them, they may simply put it down and walk away.
Put it down and walk away. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. It is as simple as that. If you think that this book is to mature for your children to read, put it away and let them read it when they are a little older. But still, there are some books that cannot be skipped over when reading American Literature. To Kill A Mockingbird is one of those books and I hope people realize this, but if they don’t…
DON’T READ THIS BLOG!
Written by Jeff Jeffrey
Louisiana State University
The Daily Reveille Online Edition 1/24/2007
hannah8 said
You are absolutely right. I also really like that the example that was used was a parish. This shows that not all religious people are book burners. hooray! There are different opinions in the world, and people have to be willing to live with that (if they want to live in this world, that is). But I suppose there will always be book burners and people will always be upset that something is floating around out there that they don’t like. But we just have to learn to respect each others opinions…even the censors. For me, I have the same feeling as you “if you don’t like it, don’t read it”, but throwing a hissy fit about it isn’t going to make people listen to you or change their mind, its just going to annoy them. Or maybe make them want to read more. Thats how i’ve always been, if someone told me i couldn’t do something and i didn’t understand why, I’d go do it just to show them. I think that censorship is something that should never be overlooked because if people stop reacting to it is when I think it will be allowed to take over.
bisardm said
Your post really interested me, I can not believe that the reglious people where book burners. I really just did not think i would ever hear about anything like this happening. I really think that people should abide by the rule, freedom or reglion speech and press. This means that people can write and read whatever they want and other people cant stop them. This should meant that people can not burn other people books but obviously this is not how this went. I relly think that people should be able to read and write whatever they want to. If people want to read or write about something enough theyw will find a way to do it so everyone should just leave each other alone! Read and write whatever you want!
anns311 said
I also agree with you about the First Amendment implications of burning books. Like this blog and several class discussions refer to, I think that some materials need to be taught. This means reading a book for content and appreciating it for what it says. Almost every book with any merit has been banned or at leasted investigated for content or language. The top 2 most banned authors are JK Rowling and (this one surprised me) Judy Blume. When researching banned books for my 309 class, I couldn’t believe that most of the books I read in both primary and secondary school were at one point challenged or banned or both. The other part of censorship that needs to be reviewed is the criteria for banning a book. Essentially, if I don’t like a book and I can get another person to agree with me, that book is challenged. I think that there should be more of a formal system for challenging a book. Maybe a rating system, like they do for movies and video games, would be more appropriate than “banning”? I think that when taught with tact, even the most controversial book can have educational merit.