Banning Books

Approximately a year ago, I started reading "Catcher in the Rye" for my AP Literature class. I wish I'd read it earlier. Ninth grade. Eighth. I wish I had known all along that good kids can get swept along in a current of confusion and still come out on the other side as good people, but perhaps no longer as innocent and unaware. I wish I had known that doing poorly in school doesn't make you worthless. I wish I had known that mental illness (such as the depression I struggled with all through middle school and high school) doesn't have to be all-consuming, and you CAN make it out okay. I learned these things from "Catcher in the Rye," which is not assigned in Utah schools. I only got to read it because of the freedom which was allowed my AP Lit teacher. I wouldn't have learned these things about myself and the world I live in if I hadn't read that book under his guidance.

One has to ask, then, if it has such valuable lessons why was it ever banned, especially from the age group that most severely needs it? Because of the "F word." It says it a handful of times (seven, by my count) at the end of the book. But guess what? I knew that word when I was TEN YEARS OLD. People in my elementary school were saying it to look cool or fearless, and I have never stopped hearing it since. Banning books does not protect children. It keeps them from learning different perspectives. Again: BANNING BOOKS DOES NOT PROTECT CHILDREN, IT KEEPS THEM FROM LEARNING DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES.

Thanks.

For a list of the most current commonly banned books, and more information about the banning of books, visit http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks