There’s always going to be someone who doesn’t want us to read. Whether it is for societal, religious or political reasons, the prohibition and censorship of literature have always been two very prominent issues across the world that have often been enforced during some of the darkest times of our shared history. Though the freedom to read is one of the many indisputable human rights that exist, it seems that modern times have made these rights increasingly more difficult to defend.
The concept of “book banning” within the United States is not new at all. This has been done for centuries by varying administrations across the nation with the usual, immediate goal to repress certain literary pieces from being accessible to the public. Books that were deemed inappropriate in any way, shape, or form were forbidden from being taught within American schools and from being accessible within public libraries. This was the case for classical novels such as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and even The Diary of Anne Frank. More contemporary literary works aimed at young adults and children like Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Lorax have also fallen victim to censorship and prohibition. However, it should be noted that the reasons given to ban these books were often biased and centered on whether or not they adhered to traditional conservative values. Books that dealt with racism and oppression were deemed as offensive, books dealing with sexual, gender and or LGBTQ+ themes were considered pornographic, books that dealt with existentialism and human nature were considered immoral… the list is endless.
The initial prohibition of these books only made them more sought out by readers and ironically increased their popularity within literary and academic circles. These repressions did not necessarily cease entirely within the United States but they have increased significantly over the last few years. The Trump administration’s “Project 2025” proposes even harsher stipulations and restrictions for reading. These restrictions hope to further repress public and academic access to very important books. Books that deal with thought-provoking topics while simultaneously critiquing, challenging and or exploring the societal, political and religious norms found within traditional and contemporary American culture. While banning books does not prohibit their sale to individual consumers, it does prevent access for those who rely on public libraries and public education for reading materials.
This has all boiled down to the point where the American Library Association (ALA) released a statement condemning the current presidential administration and the Department of Education for dismissing concerns regarding book banning across the states as being “a hoax”. The ALA affirms that book banning is a real issue. They do so by openly reminding us that under the U.S Constitution, book banning on the basis of objection from a specific group or due to the prejudice against a certain group is unconstitutional. This attempted censorship violates the first amendment of American students and any other American who seeks to enrich their knowledge by reading.Book banning is NOTa hoax. It is an increasingly alarming issue plaguing the United States and it seems that it will be up to us to stand against it and fight for the freedom to read— for us and for all others.
Banning these books does not erase their message, it only prevents them from serving as tools of knowledge and literacy for readers across the nation. Reading and studying books that deal with human and historical subjects like love, death, racism, oppression, sexuality and religion among other thought-inducing topics allows for people to enhance their critical thinking skills and develop knowledgeable opinions on serious matters that affect us on a daily basis. To prohibit and control what can and cannot be read is to deprive the people of the very freedoms that are so often discussed within the modern political climate.
To ban books is to ban freedom as a whole.