All over the United States, further banning of books continues. Kaylee discusses the different books that are being banned in schools now and how they should not deter people from certain thoughts and opinions just because a handful of people dislike them.
So many people care about the issue of book bans and this needs to be fixed-- not. People should actually care more about banning certain books in schools because some books teach us about subjects we need to learn, like sexuality and politics. According to the book review website, Bookriot, "About 41% of books that have been banned in the U.S. have taught students more about LGBTQ+ and organizations and states have banned them to blind the public from truths." This is just one example of how banned books can open people's eyes.
Books that are being read in some schools are banned in others. According to a book website, Penn America, "The Catcher and The Rye was banned at a high school in Ohio for 'Anti-white' and 'Obscene' language." While this book does include those elements, it is also an astounding learning experience for high schoolers to learn about historically accurate English. Many critics are not understanding the time frame between the time of publishing and now. This book was made in the 1950s, so language that was used frequently then would now be considered inappropriate.
Best sellers, books that are being taught at this very high school, are being banned from California all the way to Illinois. According to Book Riot, "School boards, even just different people in the U.S. are completely blind to the fact that those books. That history is being forgotten as time goes by." Historical subjects like concentration camps, fires, rallies, and even just citizens standing up for what they believe in are being forgotten. Books like Ulysses, The Grapes of Wrath, and other extraordinary books that cover so many different topics all over the world are being forgotten. Some of our history has been hidden, with the censorship of ordinary fiction.
Through these books, history is slowly being forgotten. Even Hitler, who made poor decisions in his life, resulting in the deaths of millions of people, wrote down his thoughts, his feelings-- his honest opinions. That’s what a book is: someone’s innermost self, put down on pages, which we can criticize but should not discourage.
