Banning Books

The ideas in books spark more ideas

To some, ideas are dangerous. The Nazi book burnings were a campaign conducted by the German Student Union (German: Deutsche Studentenschaft, DSt) to ceremonially burn books in Nazi Germany and Austria in the 1930s. The books targeted for burning were those viewed as being subversive or as representing ideologies opposed to Nazism. 

- Wikipedia

Here come the Thought Police

It's happening again today. There is a concerted effort by conservatives to ban books that mention racism, slavery, the holocaust, anything about LBGTQ people, and feminism. It's a continuation of the culture war issues advocated by Pat Buchanan. It's an effort to advance thought control.

Why do people ban books? Often it's for religious or political reasons: An idea, a scene, or a character in the book offends their religion, sense of morality, or political view. Some folks feel they need to protect children from the cursing, morally offensive behavior, or racially insensitive language in a book.

Jan 30, 2022 commonsensemedia

Schools provide safe spaces to talk about controversial issues, and literature presents characters portraying human experience in all its richness and contradictoriness. Reading is a way to take in the difficult situations and understand them.
- Julia Alvarez

I read banned books in high school. You see, they weren't banned at my school. "Johnny Got His Gun," "Catcher in the Rye," "Huckleberry Finn," "Native Son," "The Great Gatsby," "Of Mice and Men," "1984," "To Kill A Mocking Bird," "Fahrenheit 451," and more. We had free and open discussions about the contents and the issues the subject matter represented. We were encouraged to debate. We were encouraged to express our thoughts. We were taught to think.

I did not grow up hating my parents. I did not change my sexuality. I did not become a communist or a member of the John Birch Society.

“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."

-Benjamin Franklin

Constitutional Basis

Freedom of speech is guaranteed in the Constitution. “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.“
— First Amendment to the United States

What are the effects of banning books?

For teachers, book banning means shaky, ever-changing curriculum, fear for personal choices, and the tragedy of self-censorship. For students, book banning means a denial of First Amendment rights, a narrow world view, and psychological deficits. For the classroom, book banning means discourse is hindered. Core values of the public radio audience include Belief in Civil Discourse. The power to find solutions depends on informed individuals able to understand the complexity of the issues we face.

Book banning can hang on the thinnest thread of reasoning.

The Top Ten Ludicrous Reasons To Ban A Book  -The Januarist/Amy Thibodeau

1. “Encourages children to break dishes so they won’t have to dry them.” (A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstien)
2. “It caused a wave of rapes.” (Arabian Nights, or One Thousand and One Nights)
3. “If there is a possibility that something might be controversial, then why not eliminate it?” (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown)
4. “Tarzan was ‘living in sin’ with Jane.” (Tarzan, by Edgar Rice Burroughs)
5. “It is a real ‘downer.’” (Diary of Anne Frank, by Anne Frank)
6. “The basket carried by Little Red Riding Hood contained a bottle of wine, which condones the use of alcohol.” (Little Red Riding Hood, by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm K. Grimm)
7. “One bunny is white and the other is black and this ‘brainwashes’ readers into accepting miscegenation.” (The Rabbit’s Wedding, by Garth Williams)
8. “It is a religious book and public funds should not be used to purchase religious books.” (Evangelical Commentary on the Bible, by Walter A. Elwell, ed.)
9. “A female dog is called a bitch.” (My Friend Flicka, by Mary O’Hara)
10. “An unofficial version of the story of Noah’s Ark will confuse children.” (Many Waters, by Madeleine C. L’Engle)

"Submitting to censorship is to enter the seductive world of 'The Giver': the world where there are no bad words and no bad deeds. But it is also the world where choice has been taken away and reality distorted. And that is the most dangerous world of all."
— Lois Lowry

A review in the Guardian summarizes the book this way:

The Giver is a morally driven and interesting story about a young boy called Jonas who lives in a society free of crime and sadness. At the age of 12, children are assigned their jobs, which they will train for and do for the rest of their lives. Everything is chosen; from your parents to your partner. Jonas stands apart from the community when he is chosen to become the new "Memory Keeper". Society has been kept free of all the negative aspects of life because for as long as it has been formed, there has been someone who holds all the bad and good memories of the past within them. This is both bad and good for the inhabitants because, although they are protected from harm, they are also not exposed to the wonderful aspects of life.

The founders of this country got it right when they included among the five freedoms, the freedom of expression. Authoritarians are afraid of the five freedoms. They want to control the message to hold onto power and wealth.