Christian Rodriguez 7/1/15
MS51 808
Why Books Shouldn't Be Banned
Dear Mrs.
Berner,
Have you ever had an encounter with a school that has a
limitation to what books they can read? I certainly haven't because I believe
we should be able to have the freedom of reading anything we want without
anyone being in our tracks. Reading is one of our greatest accomplishments we
have discovered in the world, without it,who knows where we would be. In
several states in the United States this isn't the case. Schools are now
banning books because of the constant use of drugs, sex, violence, and anti-religion
focuses. Many popular books have been banned for these reasons. Many parents get
frustrated at these books and send complains to the American Library
Association. There are many reasons I believe books shouldn't be banned, many
other people believe this as well.
As you may have read people don’t agree with some authors
writing because of their thoughts such as anti-religion focuses or things like
drug users, things like these could teach teenagers and children all over the
world and could influence them on what not to do and what to do. Not only that
but it could teach them lessons that they need for future purposes or help them
with current issues. In many parts of the world there are many writers, and all
of their books have different creative plots which some people do not understand
or agree with the way it is written because of its blasphemous content. People
don’t understand that many of the things that are in these books represent
current world issues that people can relate to but don’t take the time to
understand because of ignorance. Many of these books relate to people who
suffer from issues such as depression, or problems that are occurring within
their family. I believe that the determination about which books should be
restricted from children depends on their level of maturity. Someone who doesn’t
understand these issues could misinterpret the book and think negatively about
the books meaning. In the book “The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton can teach you
worthy life lessons, even though this book has blasphemous and inappropriate content,
these are the things that many teens are doing in the country from another time
period in the United States. This book could teach you that friendship can
survive anything, it also tells us that we have to live our lives to the
fullest because life isn’t as long as you may think it is.
What people don’t realize is that
censorship leads to conformity. This limits the range and variety of expression
which our culture depends on. Without certain books which help us tremendously help
us with creativity, research, and technological advances. Without books all of
this would be limited and who knows where we would be right now. The publishers’
responsibility are to give the full meaning to the freedom to read by providing
books that enrich the quality and diversity of expression coming from books.
The world and our country would be limited without books or even certain books.
People don’t realize that if books were banned even our history would be taken
away because there were many historical issues that happened in the past, not
only that but history shaped our world and is still shaping our world as we are
a part of it. The First Amendment guarantees our freedom to decide what we
choose to read and think. If people keep thinking that books are becoming inappropriate
thoughts have been coming to peoples’ minds to add ratings to books showing if
the book is inappropriate or not sort of like a coding. I gravitate to
literature that depicts reality and many others do the same because it helps us
and the confused, not only that but it also helps the suffering cope with
issues they are having. Reading is an important freedom that I am grateful for
and so are other people that will fight for it if it is taken away.
However, some people argue that
banning books is good because some books contain blasphemous dialogue,
religious affiliations, sexual content, racial discrimination and even more
things that shouldn’t be discussed about in public. The people of the United
States argue that the reason why books get banned are because they want to
protect others, which are frequently children. Parents state that their
children aren’t ready to handle this content and that it could traumatize them
or affect them emotionally or mentally. People also say that these books can
teach them bad habits and even possibly lead them into the wrong direction
leading into social issues. An example of why these books are wanted to being
banned is because many books are profane and teach kids for the most part but
also adults how to kill, do crimes or how to even build things that will do
crime.
In conclusion, as you’ve noticed
banning books has a bigger impact on society in a bad way then not banning
books because it helps our culture grow and grow together and makes us be able
to express our knowledge in the world. The positives outweigh the negatives and
shows us how books are a big part of our society. Drugs, sex, and violence are
touchy topics that no one wants to talk about, however, authors manipulate and
help people cope with these issues by reading about them. The world is
changing, and books have helped us shape this world and expand in knowledge. As
you see books are an important part of
our world and should not be banned.
Sincerely,
Christian Rodriguez
