My Thoughts, My Words

Book Bans

Storytelling is the oldest art form in human history. It is an important part of the human experience in one way or another. We learn who we are and who we want to be through stories. Telling people that they are not allowed to learn about certain stories, limits our understanding of who we are and we could become.

There is a reason reading is protected by the first amendment. The Constitution itself says we have the right to read what we want, and the right to read privately. Telling others what they can or cannot read is a clear violation of the Freedom of Speech. By challenging books that others declared immoral or inappropriate, they are also attacking our right to free expression, and the right to tell our own stories. We have the basic right to discover who we are. By reading we learn a little more about ourselves. If we are restricted from reading certain books, we are restricting our own personal growth.

In the last few years book bans have been on the rise. The top three reasons books are challenged or banned is because it contains sexual content, offensive language, or the material is unsuited for the age group. Half of the books that have been banned featured a lead character who identified as LGBTQ+, and ten percent of the banned books deal with racism, and have a lead character of color. So the question I ask is, "When is it an appropriate time to talk about racism or sexual identity?"

If a parent chooses to limit what their child reads based on their beliefs, that is the right of the parent of that child. But to limit what a child has access to read based on someone else's belief is erroneous. As we grow and learn we will develop our own ideas of the world we live in. In order to make up our own thoughts and ideas of the world we need to be able to access the information on the questions we have about ourselves.

By banning books about LGBTQ+ community, survivors of sexual violence, or those about cultural differences, we are telling these groups, "You don't matter." One of the most important things a child can learn is empathy. How are children to learn empathy if they don't know nothing about another cultures experiences. By banning books about LGBTQ+ people and people of color we are telling these children that one group is superior to other groups, and that other diversities and communities are below them. Do we really want children to have a narrow minded view of the world?

Causing to ban certain books in a classroom setting can cause a stunt in a child's curiosity. It also causes a gap in knowledge for students who want to know more about the world. If a child knows nothing about the world around them, how are they supposed to learn to live in the world around them, if they know nothing of it. How are they supposed to know their purpose in the world if they don't know what's going on in the world.

The truth of the matter is that these stories are important part of understanding the world around us. We can't limit the stories in our lives just because someone else feels uncomfortable, of what we choose to read. The stories that make us feel uncomfortable are the ones that show who we are as people. To understand why these stories make us feel what we feel, is to understand another part of ourselves. That way we'll be able to understand the story that is our lives.