The Pros And Cons Of Banning Books

Our system for banning books is flawed. Classic books are important to readers. The religion you in believe will play a factor on what people think about books. Therefore, the law will limit parents ability on banning books. Banning books is outrageous and should not be accepted.

Books like To Kill a Mockingbird provide vital information and shows how African-Americans got treated. “White men were the authority figures in Maycomb county. They favored white opinion and believed whites were always innocent” (Lee 282). First, this quote shows that white people could do whatever they want and get away with it because they could just blame it on a black person. Parents might see this and say this book is too vulgar for their children to read.

Therefore, they will try to ban the book for being racist and having explicit language. Lastly, it is important because kids need to know how life was like back when segregation was still a problem. “Banning books is hurting kids reading experience” (Konrad). When classic books get banned it causes kids to not be able to choose what they want to read. Banning books is limiting kids on how much they can read and what they can read. Kids in different states are exposed to different things, so more children are at a disadvantage. Finally, getting these so-called “unsuitable” books away from your children is leaving them less experienced than people realize.

Importantly, personal beliefs play a factor on what people think about sensitive books. “You’re a reaction to these terms are personal and may be connected to your spiritual, moral, ethical, or individual beliefs” (Schneider 326). This quote is very important because people need to realize that what you believe in will change your opinion on many things. At the same time, touchy subjects that books mention and talk about can cause an uproar. Next, this is also one of the main reasons people banned certain books. “Foot-washers believe anything that’s pleasure is a sin. Did you know some of em came out of the woods Saturday and passed by this place and said me and my flowers are going to hell” (Lee 5). Talking about certain religions might result in people being offended by what was said. This quote also shows vulgar language. Furthermore, parents will not want their kids reading books with cuss words. “One of the most common reasons for book banning is a religious viewpoint and the Bible is one of the most frequently challenged materials in libraries” (Condren). A recent study showed that religion is one of the most common reasons. Also, this explains why parents are the majority of initiators of banned books. Religion schools might ban books that are not apart of their religion. Lastly, banning books has many different reasons on why people do not like the sensitive book.
Firstly, there are laws that should prevent the banning of books.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof: or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and the petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (“Constitution”). While books should not be banned because people have the right to read what they want; Books get banned anyway. Moreover, people should not be able to restrict your reading experiences. “We already have a policy . . . designed to expressly to handle such problems. It calls for the Superintendent, upon receiving an objection to a book or books, to appoint a committee to study them and make recommendations” (Board of Education v. Pico). Parents alone do not have the ability to ban books, yet they are the number one initiators for banning books. The Superintendent needs to take more action on books and not let one parent ban a book. “The standard from Pico which governs book banning decisions is that school officials may not remove a book from the school library simply because they dislike the ideas in the book” (Banning Book and the Law). This is very important because it forces parents to have an actual reason for removing the book. In other words, people need to read about the laws behind the process of banning books and what it takes to get there. We need more laws that protect books and rights to read what you want. All of the reasons I just stated is why banning books are selfish and inconsiderate. There are so many great books in the world. Banning one book isn’t going to help anything. However, it will hurt your child. Think about other people's kids and what they are missing out on. Do you really want kids to not have the same opportunities as other

kids?