Book Banning

“While the debate over book banning continues to divide Americans, perhaps one thing everyone can agree upon is that books are powerful, often provocative, and may even change the way we think” (Text 1). Books continue to be questioned by people as to whether they should be banned due to being sexually explicit, having offensive language, and so many other reasons. Some may see it fit to ban a specific book, whereas others do not agree with the banning of a book. It is for this reason that there is contradictions between the banning of books today. There are a few different reasons as to why books should not be banned. People tend to use their First Amendment right, the right to freedom of expression, to its fullest. However, the banning of books severely limits this right. It states, “ In the United States, public school libraries enjoy significant First Amendment protections because of the Pico decision, a 1982 Supreme Court ruling that the First Amendment protests not only the freedom to express ideas, but also the

A text states, This time federal judge John Woolsey decided that the novel did not violate obscenity law, as it was written with genuine artistry and would not lead a normal adult reader to depravity” (Text 1). If the book Ulysses by James Joyce was banned, then so many people would have been deprived of this author’s creativity. It is found in the same text, “Moreover, the statement reads, ‘Every silencing of a heresy, every enforcement of an orthodoxy, diminishes the toughness and resilience of our society and leaves it the less able to deal with controversy and difference’” (Text 1). When a book is banned from the public, then the people around become more dumb. By being more dumb, it is meant that those people are less prepared for the differences they will come across, and therefore, are also less open minded. Books are an outlet of creativity and understanding and should not be