Should The Benefits Of Banning Books

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In America, citizens’ rights are protected by the Constitution. But people have violated these basic human rights. School boards have been banning books from their libraries due to a simple difference in opinion. People justify these actions by claiming to be protecting children from inappropriate content. However, book banning is not an acceptable form of censorship as it violates the First Amendment. Books allow a reader to explore different perspectives and permit people to find comfort in relatable stories. Books allow children to grasp perspectives that are not taught to them by their surrounding peers. As stated in source E, “We shouldn’t be banning books that allow a different perspective other than the one the school system wants to …show more content…

Additionally, it grants the ability to develop empathy for those groups that have been ostracized by parents and organizations simply because they are different. This pushes teens to grow into a prejudiced mindset, which will only cause the cycle to repeat once they have children. Overall, book banning will narrow a child's view and cause the discriminatory lifestyle of their parents to continue on for generations. Furthermore, these stories allow children to find comfort and cope with their own situations. As the author states in source D, “Kobabe, who is nonbinary, told the Texas Tribune that Gender Queer aims to provide ‘good, accurate, safe information’ for queer high school students at a time when there’s a lot of misinformation about gender identity exploration online.” (Waxman). As described, the writers of some of the banned books desire to give adolescents correct information about topics to allow a child to understand themselves. This provides students with a safe place to explore their own identity when other places, like their home, may be unsafe to do …show more content…

Argued in source C is, “They are right to champion the innocence of children.” (Meyrat). This author believes that parents and officials are correct in getting books like Kobabe's off the shelves in order to protect their children. On the other hand, Source E states, “The above are examples of books that have been banned even though they depict the truth of our history or the truth of our present.” (Dia). This author suggests that no matter how cruel a book is, it is based on reality, which is equally as horrible. So, while people may argue these terrible books revoke children's innocence, they merely teach the students about the terrible world they live in. Additionally, if a child is confused or concerned, reading about these events or people in an educational environment encourages intellectual growth and allows the student to navigate these difficult topics with a trusted adult instead of online where false information can be given. In conclusion, students should be able to read about the difficult or inappropriate topics in the books schools are attempting to ban so that the child can learn about these sensitive topics in a place of reliable

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