Censorship

The First Amendment of the United States expresses that, "Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." However, the list of banned books in public schools as well as in public libraries is quite extensive. Most proponents of literary censorship, both parents and organized public groups, act with what they perceive to be highest cause: protecting their families as well as their communities from evils and injustices. They see that they are preserving the values and ideals that the entire society should take in to account. The result, nevertheless, is always the denial of another’s right to read. And by denying the right to read, you deny the intellectual freedom that every child and young adult deserves. There is an excellent essay written by Nat Hentoff entitled, "Why Teach Us to Read and Then Say We Can’t". In this essay, Hentoff explores several different circumstances where books were challenged in the settings of public schools. He also tries ...