Protecting Freedom To Read

In yesterday's paper, an article about Banned Book Week caught my interest. This annual event is celebrated by libraries across the United States this year from September 21-27. This event is fueled by the belief that people should be able to determine what they want to read without any censorship from any group.

I was surprised when I read a sampling of some of the books challenged or banned at one time or another somewhere in America. 

To Name a few:

·         The Lorax by Doctor Suess

·         Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

·         Charlotte’sWeb by E.B. White

·         Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

·         Beloved by Toni Morrison

·         To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee

·         The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck

·         The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

As an avid reader and one who absolutely loved all of the above, I wanted to know more. Before researching the topic on Google, I was sure that most of the challenges or banning must have occurred in the early history of our country, or at the very latest in the first half of the twentieth century. 

Not so, I learned. Challenges continue. In fact, in the decade 1990 to 2000, individuals have raised 6, 364 challenges to books, according to the Office for Intellectual Freedom. Consider, in 2003, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was removed from the Renton School District in Washington State. Even more astounding, like the scene from The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak, the Harry Potter series was burned in 2003 in Michigan.

As long as beliefs conflict, most likely there will be those who will want to challenge the reading of some books. The difficult determination for school boards, communities, librarians and teachers will be to protect intellectual freedom while respecting personal values.

That’s a daunting task! And one we must all weigh in on so we protect our freedom to choose. Perhaps the comedian, Tommy Smothers, may have said it best: “The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen.” Or in the case of books, choose read or not.

In the meantime, I think about the loss of insight and inspiration these books offer. Most importantly, they challenge us to think and ponder life as it is and also how it should be.  The world would be less rich without them. So, I encourage all of you to check out the lists of past banned books. If there's books on the list you haven't yet read, take them out from your library. 

Most of all, find a way to Celebrate Banned Books week and intellectual freedom!