For those of us who love to read, we know we live in dangerous times. The forces of censorship seem to grow stronger every day. In 2022, we live in a state of constant crisis, which is why I try to keep world events out of my blog. I strive to bring some peace and beauty to my readers. But it's hard.
In the United States, everything has become political. We are all, it seems, in crisis mode, with "breaking news" appearing on our television screens multiple times a day. We are even questioning some of our core values, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
But censorship is a different thing. This week is Banned Books Week, running from September 18-24.
There are increasing calls for books to be banned from various venues including: Schools. Bookstores. Libraries.
Take, for example the continuing situation in Idaho at the Boundary County Library in Bonners Ferry. Five years ago, it was awarded the title "Best Small Town Library in America".
Or, take what happened earlier this year at the Vinton, Iowa public library.
Banned Books Week has never been just about words on a page (or an ebook screen). Those who want to exercise absolute mind control over populations know that.
The Banned Books Week's website says:
"By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted by librarians and teachers across the country."
The Top 10 Challenged Books of 2021 are listed on the site. Most of these books may not be familiar to you.
But I bet this list contains books that many of us are familiar with.
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker.
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Here's another way to look at it: 46 of the top 100 books of the 20th century have had efforts to ban them. On the list below, the highlighted books are the ones people have tried to get banned. (Sorry, these are from pictures I took so are a little hard to read).
It can be scary to resist these forces that want to control our reading, but people have resisted. Some who feel that certain books don't belong in school or public libraries use the argument that people can always buy those books. But, what if they don't have money? Or, worse yet, if banning books from libraries becomes OK, isn't pressuring bookstores just around the corner? Or, if publishers "voluntarily" pull certain books off the shelves?
Censorship, even "self-censorship" Is. Just. Plain. Wrong.
I ask myself, will I have the courage if censorship forces come to a library or bookstore near me? do from time to time? Will I be reading banned books in public on the lawn of my local library like some in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, have done?
But, if people don't resist, what will our future look like?
...the world is looking like it did in the 1930s.
ReplyDeleteI live just a few miles from Island Trees High School. Island Trees School District was famous in the 80's because of a book banning case that went all the way to the US Supreme Court. I drive past the school and remember that it happened here and can happen again.
ReplyDeletePeople who ban books ban ideas. That is the antithesis of a free society.
I've read most of the books on your list. Great literature always makes you think. And thinking is dangerous to those who want autocratic rule.
Book banners are never on the right side of history.
Censorship is just an effort by those in "power" to abuse their power in an effort to limit information and "dumb down" the population. If you are deserving of power, that kind of control would not even be considered.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how the book banners decide which books they want to ban. Could it be that they have ACTUALLY READ THEM AND MADE UP THEIR OWN MINDS ABOUT THEM?!! Nah, that couldn't be it. It's probably some kind of received wisdom...
ReplyDeleteI always think of the line in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade when Sir Sean Connery grabs the arm of an abusive officer and says, "It teaches me that goose-stepping morons like yourself should try READING books instead of BURNING them!" True words in that time period. Truer words now. We have learned nothing.
ReplyDeleteSo many on the lists are required high school reading! Not that I think they should be, they've been required for decades, and some are not relatable to today's students. On the new lists I've read few of the recently challenged books. If one doesn't like a title, don't read it. If they don't want their kids to read it, stop them. Or try to stop them! There are books I don't want to read. I don't. There are books I find personally offensive. I don't read them. Or books too violent. Or too graphically sexual. I just don't read them. It's like a lot of issues today. Don't approve of something. Fine. Don't do it then. I've been reading about the Idaho library, and they don't even carry the books in question, they just refuse to promise not to get them if patrons ask for them!
ReplyDeleteI know various English teachers do something for banned books week. I haven't seen anything this year, but I've been in a chemistry class for a bit. I'll look around.
ReplyDeleteI have a first edition of a children's story book from 1950. Imagine how surprised I was to search for it online and find out it had been banned and reprinted with one story removed. Lots of talk about banning books in Michigan.
ReplyDeleteAs an avid reader, I am beside myself about what is happening. Also as a former educator. Sigh. Carol C
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