A Rant and Education about Banned Books

I promised you a look into Banned Books and Banned Book Week.... I'll get into that in a minute.... If you wish to skip ahead, feel free while I fill some of the space below with rants about my real life.

I love my parents.  I really do.  I understand that much of what they do is out of their love for me and out of fear for what will happen to me if I fail inspection AGAIN.  But a lot of the time, we seem to be on different levels of communication.  I think that what I did with my money is okay because what I do with my life is mine, etc.  What right do they have to question my actions and decisions?  I often feel as though I have to defend my choices to them.  It feels quite....aggravating to have my parents there all the time.  And I fear the possibilities of what would happen, which is what they only want to talk about with me sometimes; I fear those possibilities so much that I block them out, that I choose not to think about them.  Because they hurt and are scary.  I don't want to endure that fear so much, the way Mom and Dad do.  I can see it hurts them, so I avoid the hurt by not thinking about it.

Don't get me wrong: I want to solve my problems.  But sometimes I have no idea where to start.  They do, and they keep telling me.  They keep saying what I need to do but it doesn't seem to compute with me.  Perhaps I need to experience the problem solving myself to fully understand......

Now, with that said.... Let's get into the topic I chose.....

Why Banned Books?

A lot of the information I am putting here comes from InfoPlease so don't worry.....

It may seem archaic and trivial but book banning still takes place even today.  The Giver, To Kill a Mockingbird, even Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl were all banned for various reasons, even though their existence is actually quite important, to share knowledge of what has happened or what can happen in the future.  But if they're so important, why are certain texts banned?

A lot of times, it's for the best intentions, mostly to protect people, especially children from the horrors of the human mind, specifically ideas that are quite difficult to understand.  Of course, certain governments take it a step further: banning books and media that counters their idea of a perfect government, especially the propaganda they put out.  Like, why would China and North Korea allow books that promote capitalism and the "American dream"?  Because it would threaten their influence over the people in those countries.

I agree that these books have to exist, despite their status.  Some address racism, others allow imagination, and some just outright question certain ideals like a Utopian society.

Others are deemed anti-American, such as A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich by Alice Childress.  But most are considered to be not suitable for children.  Isn't that what the Young Adult genre label is for, anyways?

Banned books exist.  You might disagree with its existence but it's there.  Golden Compass is there and full of ideas, despite the intentions of the author.  The Giver is there, too, warning us of the dangers of a Utopian society.  Just give it a chance before pissing on it and perhaps it could open a few minds up to possibilities.

Let us celebrate the books and experience the hurt--the way we should!