Earlier this week, I watched a video with a public school librarian in America. She was talking about how she had done a display for Banned Book Week and was asked to take it down by the principal because a parent complained.
In the video, she shows some of the books on display, and I have read quite a few. What troubled me was that of the books I’d read, some required reading for me in high school. The topics discussed in those books, which now are a reason to ban them, sparked insightful conversations in the classroom.
I’m an avid reader, and I’ve been that way since I was a kid. I think my parents were happy I enjoyed reading so much that they didn’t consider policing what I was reading. I’m grateful they didn’t review my literary choices when I was young because I believe that would have limited my worldview.
I think that if there are books that you find questionable, then that’s an invitation to have a discussion. Instead of saying, “don’t read that book,” why not talk about the book and what parts of it you disagree with and why? I don’t think that anyone benefits from avoiding certain subjects simply because they make you uncomfortable.
I think that reading books that challenged my beliefs growing up helped me to expand my mind and be more empathetic. Reading books from authors of different cultures, ethnicities, sexual orientations and countries can help you learn more about them and help to expand your mind.
I’m not sure why some of these books are being censored. To me, it appears to be more about control than protecting anyone from content that could be harmful. If you want everyone in your community to believe things are a certain way, then you probably aren’t excited about anything that may challenge that way of life.
Change isn’t a bad thing, it’s actually necessary. Change is how we can improve our situation and the way we interact with others. As a recovering control freak, I understand the unwillingness to accept changes that we don’t have control over, but I also realize that I can’t possibly predict the outcomes or impacts of those changes and most of the time I’m pleasantly surprised.