Why Do We Need Book Censorship?
Library censorship is not a new issue in the United States. For nearly two decades, parents, school boards, teachers, students, and different religious groups have worked to ban various books seen as inappropriate or offensive. According to the American Library Association, over 11,300 books have been challenged since just 1989. Specific books and authors have been repeatedly targeted over the years such as Mark Twain, J.K. Rowling, John Green, and Judy Blume. The First Amendment grants protections for authors against book banning. Not only does the First Amendment grant protections for the authors of the book, but it also protects the right of students to read whatever information they please and for teachers to add the books they wish to
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Censorship is defined as “the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security” (Oxford Dictionary). Oftentimes, people disagree with the ideas expressed in books by authors and then take steps to censor these ideas through book challenging. Book challenging is usually done to protect children or other people from ideas that someone’s perceives as harmful, but in doing so goes against our protections under the First Amendment (American Library Association). Book challenging and banning today usually comes from school boards and parents, not the U.S. government. There has been a history of government censorship of books and pieces of writing, but court cases have overturned these because this type of censorship is seen as unconstitutional. This unconstitutionality has not stopped book banning or challenging though by religious groups, parents, and school boards. The main censorship issue today is students being told what ideas they can or cannot be exposed to, which has a negative effect on their learning experience. Today, it is seen as unacceptable by the courts to try and ban a book through challenging simply because you do not agree with the information or ideas in
Censorship is defined as “the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security” (Oxford Dictionary). Oftentimes, people disagree with the ideas expressed in books by authors and then take steps to censor these ideas through book challenging. Book challenging is usually done to protect children or other people from ideas that someone’s perceives as harmful, but in doing so goes against our protections under the First Amendment (American Library Association). Book challenging and banning today usually comes from school boards and parents, not the U.S. government. There has been a history of government censorship of books and pieces of writing, but court cases have overturned these because this type of censorship is seen as unconstitutional. This unconstitutionality has not stopped book banning or challenging though by religious groups, parents, and school boards. The main censorship issue today is students being told what ideas they can or cannot be exposed to, which has a negative effect on their learning experience. Today, it is seen as unacceptable by the courts to try and ban a book through challenging simply because you do not agree with the information or ideas in