Book bannings are on the rise

The dangers of censorship

MARIA SIMPSON / OPINION EDITOR / THE USD VISTA

Well over a month into 2022 and there is already enormous political conflict brewing in the US. However, this time the warring left and right have brought their quarrel down from Capitol Hill and into classrooms across America. Books are being banned in schools across the country at rates much higher than in prior years, allowing censorship to creep in.

Banning books may not sound threatening, but it is an intrusive and unconstitutional form of censorship that we must combat.

Virtual learning during the past two years gave parents a unique window of opportunity to see exactly what their children are learning and reading, and many are unhappy with the material. Many parents are concerned that their children’s minds are being polluted with certain material, especially regarding race, gender, and sexuality.

The majority of these challenges concerning certain books are occurring in Texas and in my home state of Tennessee. These conservative states are challenging books such as “Maus”, a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Art Spiegelman about World War II, Toni Morrison’s classic “Beloved” which depicts the horrors of slavery post Civil War, and “All Boys Aren’t Blue”, a memoir by George M. Johnson about growing up identifying as a queer black man, just to name a few.

However, it is not just right wing individuals that are demanding the removal of certain titles from library shelves. Liberal states and parents are on their own censorship crusade as well. Their choices of censorship are formulated to erase American history, which limits education for younger generations. “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, one of the most common books in middle school and high school curriculums and a literary classic, is also a very commonly banned book. It was recently removed from a Washington school district curriculum due to racist language and the depiction of a white savior. Some school districts in other blue states are removing John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”, another staple of American literature, for racist speech as well.

It always boggles my mind that parents and legislators fight so hard to ban these kinds of books. They completely disregard the fact that books like these are taught so that students learn American history and how inhumanely and atrociously minority groups were treated in the past.

That knowledge then opens the gate for those children to examine the world they are living in and see what has improved and what corruption remains so that hopefully that young generation can take the next step to fix it.    

In the end, it doesn’t matter what political criteria you lean toward, banning books is ignorant, outrageous, and flat out unconstitutional. Freedom of speech is prized in America and is one of the most valuable freedoms we have. Banning a book from a school or library equates to silencing that author’s voice. If you truly cannot stomach the concept or content of a book, then simply do not read it. Every individual has the freedom to choose what media or literature they consume as much as every author ought to have the freedom to publish their ideas.

Banning books also has consequences that could be considered even more dire than just silencing an author. It hinders the education of children growing up in a world where it is so important to know and understand the intricacies about race, diversity, sexuality, gender, and many more topics that parents and legislators are afraid of “corrupting” the young minds of America with.

Imagine how many high schoolers are struggling with their identities and trying to figure out who they are; but there is no information to guide them, no characters or authors for them to look to and see a reflection of themselves in. Stripping that opportunity away is hurting these children more than any profanity or sexually explicit scene in a book ever could.

Banning educational books is clearly harmful. However, bannings go beyond just political books. Some very commonly banned books are innocent children’s stories.
The “Harry Potter” series faced heavy trial as it rose in popularity due to witchcraft in the story. “And Tango Makes Three” by Peter Parnell is a picture book about two male penguins who adopted a baby penguin. This has been banned from numerous schools for depicting a homosexual relationship.

I remember learning about banned books as an incredibly bookish elementary school student and feeling totally aghast that one of my favorite stories could be removed from the shelves of my school’s library.
However, banning books in schools and libraries in the US is nothing new.
This issue has been occurring since before America was even its own country.

However, it seems that this problem only gets worse, not better. According to the American Library Association, there were 330 incidents of official book bannings from September through November of 2021. The total number of incidents for the entire year of 2019 was 377. This demonstrates the heavy increase of censorship within the last year. Despite the fact that our knowledge of the world and access to information is always expanding, school curriculums and libraries are becoming more limited.

Thankfully, USD is proudly standing up against banned books. Copley Library has held an annual Banned Book Week in late September since 2017 to help educate people about the dangers of censorship and the importance of intellectual freedom.

Everyone – whether you are conservative, liberal, a parent, a student, a legislator, or anything in between – should be in favor of complete intellectual freedom as a core value no matter what their political leanings are. Unfortunately, that concept is under attack right now.

The book banning plague is a tricky situation and one that is quickly sweeping the country with horrible consequences. Fortunately, there are some little things that each of us can do to combat this censorship. Reading banned books to promote those ideas and authors is the most important thing. Educating ourselves on the concepts that political groups are attempting to silence is also incredibly important. It is also good to stay informed about what books are being banned, why those ideas are being censored, and what greater consequences could arise from that.

I encourage everyone reading this to take some of these actions and stand up for your freedom of speech.