Mark_Twain_Banning_Books

Sara Something February 18, 2010 AP Lang-Period 1 There are so many cases in which people may get offended; Conservatives with the views of Liberals and so on and so forth. The issue that seems to be the largest these days is race. There has and always will be people who judge others on the color of their skin or their ethnicity and so on and so forth. But the fact is discrimination can be stopped, especially in libraries. Children don’t and shouldn’t be as sheltered as they are. To say that one book is offensive to one group and get rid of it, and then not get rid of a book that is offensive to a certain different group is hypocritical. There are many issues with written word that it is still unclear to so many where to draw the line. It is only fair to ban all books that raise contemporary and messy matters or none at all. Children in schools need to see both sides and make the decision for them. Parents can try to force their own kids into not reading certain books or not allowing them to read books offered at school, yet what are the parents really guarding their children from' It has been studied and observed that what children read affects them in massive ways. Knowing that, some think that the banning of books that are offensive is the right thing to do but it is only fair that children know the truth and the “whole truth”. There are almost always contrasting ideas to everything and to show kids in school only one side is putting an anchor on their learning and their education. Although some topics can be very sad and immoral, children need to know what’s out there, so they can have the tools they need to use against something they don’t believe in, in the real world. To leave children in the fog is neither right nor fair. Even though school does take many of rights away from children, the one right remaining is the right to know and the right to learn. My experience with a group called “True Tolerance” has led me to anger with public school libraries. Although the group focuses mainly on getting books to combat the pro-gay novels that already exist, the meaning of it is huge. “True Tolerance means a free and respectful exchange of ideas.” Only having one side of controversy in the library is not fair. In order to give the children the right to know, both sides should be expected. To hinder children from their right to know is unfair and does not show display of my school’s PART. “Spartans do your PART” means being prepared, accountable, respectable and trustworthy; the administration isn’t doing their part if they hold us back from truth and seeing both sides. Some novels and stories can be vulgar and insensitive, yet the world is one to be vulgar and insensitive, and hiding that from children is not reasonable. There should be a stop to banning books and a start to opening up the media and be completely truthful.