Book Censorship

Book Censorship

Book censorship is an issue that is very widespread. Books continue to be banned because of their controversial topics. Did you ever think that there would be a novel about this issue? Well, there is, and it is The Sledding Hill by Chris Crutcher, an author of many books that are subject to censorship. In this book, the main issue, of course, is whether or not one of Chris Crutcher’s books should be banned. It does seem a strange to write a book about why your books shouldn’t be banned, but it is a very big topic. So, this page is going to be about book censorship.

First of all, what is book censorship? What it is is people trying to take a piece of literature off of the shelf because they think that the content goes against their morals or what they believe in. It is inevitable that no matter how much we try, there is always going to be some sort of disagreement between two groups; we are only human. It is something that has gone on for as long as there has been literature. It is a very controversial topic for one big reason; the first amendment of the constitution states that everybody has freedom of speech. When people go in and try to ban the books, some say that they are violating everyone else’s rights by not letting them freely read the material. Thus, controversy is present.

So, who are the people that want to ban the books, and for what reasons would they go to such measures? It can be a religious group, a political group, a private group, an individual, or even the government. These people ban the books all because they think that the topics are too explicit, immoral, or obscene. Of course, it is all a matter of opinion, so there is nothing to gauge if a book really is too horrible for anybody to read it, or if it is only in the eyes of a certain group of people. One book, Snow Falling on Cedars, was banned in a Washington town because it mentioned the town’s racist past. Should they be able to ban the book just so they can cover it up? They are on the limit of pushing their citizens’ rights by not letting them read that material that they should be able to. It is very strange, but the government has actually banned many books. US customs will actually not allow some books to be distributed. One would think that the government would want to let the people have freedom of speech, so it is almost a contradiction that they ban books.

The banning of books is not just a domestic practice. It happens all over the world. It is just a battle over opinions, so it really is a hard issue to resolve in a country. Honestly, it should be up to the individual to decide whether or not they want to read something, not up to someone else. At least we can be thankful that we live in America. The banning of books is a lot more serious in places like the PRC and other places where the government has tighter reigns, so no matter what you think, we have it pretty good. Just remember to think for yourself about whether or not you think something should be banned. It is all a matter of opinion based on belief.