Western Courier

Issue date: 9/25/09 Section: Opinion

Mark Twain. Judy Blume. Aldous Huxley. Allen Ginsberg. What do each of these individuals have in common? Each of these writers produced a work of literature that has transcended time, and each of these authors had one or more of their work questioned.

Tomorrow marks an important day for these authors and hundreds more: the first day of Banned Book Week 2009. It's a good time to celebrate a whole literary subculture supported by youth and adults alike.

A lot of books are banned in this nation for one reason or another, and in most cases, it's unnecessary. Books are banned for excuses such as portraying witchcraft, explicit use of violence, overuse of fantasy and a plethora of other reasons.

Citizens who call for the bans may think they're protecting the youth of our generation, but they are only sheltering them from the real world. By censoring books, we do a disservice to our children.

Consider this: every time you tell an individual they can't have something, what are they likely to do? The opposite. By setting up rules to be broken with specific and drastic consequences, they are set up for failure. Taboo concepts in our culture are more enticing, and they will be more likely to read them behind the backs of those who seek to do otherwise.

I know a high school girl who hid the "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" series from her parents, as well as music they don't approve of. She hungers after the very thing she isn't supposed to have because it is allegedly damaging to her mind. She reads them anyway, without the consent of her parents. They attempt to hold her to rigid standards. I've seen her try to buck their authority before, and I predict it won't be long before she rebels completely. When she hits 18, she's going to run and never return.

We let our kids watch violence, drugs and sex on television yet we cannot let them read about it? The difference in mediums can be respected, but when will the line be drawn? Flip on your TV to any channel, before or after late-night viewing and you will see what I mean. The contents of a show are just as shocking as the contents between a book's covers.

We don't give kids enough credit. They're far more intelligent than many assume. They're aware of the questionable content of some books. They know sex, violence and discrimination happen, and they're smart enough to realize fantasy stories are made up. They don't need the thin veil of censorship to limit their reading selections.

By cloaking issues like religion, violence, sex, drug use, race and discrimination, students are not learning the ills of such issues. A child who is curious about the effects of explicit drug use is much more likely to experiment than a child who has read about them and diminished the luster of their mystique in their minds. Something that isn't so mystical isn't as appealing.

Celebrate a great work of banned literature this week. Pick up "Howl," "The Color Purple" or "Slaughterhouse Five" to get started. Don't let "the man" control your brain.

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