Book banning destroys thought

Don't read this sentence. Did you listen? No? Is it because banning you from reading something just rubs you the wrong way? I hope so. The reason I ask is the East Baton Rouge Parish Library is celebrating its first communitywide reading program designed to get as many people in the parish as possible to read the same book at the same time. And the book chosen by the library's staff for the inaugural year of this program could not have been better. It is among the greatest books of the 20th century, "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Lee's book is the story of a young girl in Alabama as she matures and watches her father fight on behalf of an innocent black man who stands accussed of raping a white woman. "To Kill a Mockingbird" earned a Pulitzer Prize and was later developed into an Academy Award winning movie that secured Gregory Peck, who played the role of Atticus Finch, as the golden standard to everyone who ever had a father or wanted to be one. But this book also received a more dubious honor. It currently sits at No. 41 on the American Library Association's list of the top 100 most challenged or banned books of the 20th century. The very existence of such a list offers insight into an absurd mindset that ought not endure in America nor should it have endured as long as it has. There are those who believe some books are so dangerous they should be restricted by some arbitrary body or banned entirely. They wish to enforce a policy whose only outcome is ignorance because some ideas make them uncomfortable. The library's decision to have the community come together on the same page for a book banned in the past is a testament to the ideals of education, and its staff deserves to be commended. Sure, in today's politically correct society, everyone's opinion matters, and we should all try to see one another's point of view. But there are some topics upon which that kinder, gentler attitude is absolutely and unwaveringly ridiculous. Taking books out of the hands of readers is revolting. And sadly, according to the ALA's Web site, the majority of people banning books work in elementary school libraries where they should be encouraging reading, not restricting it. Censorship in all forms is a dangerous proposition, and one that must be guarded against. When librarians attempt to stifle students' access to literature, they are essentially unraveling his educational outlook and teaching him that it is OK for someone outside of their family to control their thoughts. I respect parents who choose, after careful consideration, to keep their children from reading something that may cause them to grow up more quickly than they prefer. But I disagree with them. Reading and studying the written word is an inherently beautiful process. It exposes a person to a broad spectrum of ideas that would otherwise remain hidden and allows for the development of analytical reasoning. A child who reads, even when tackling books that may be difficult or contain harsh ideas, will inevitably become a more intelligent and more well-rounded person than one who does not. And books containing harsh or idiotic ideas can be used as a tangible teaching tool through which a child can learn which thoughts are proper and which are not. They can then learn if a book offends them, they may simply put it down and walk away. Looking over the list of banned books, you can find some of the most imprtant books ever written, including the best book written in the English language, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain, which sits at No. 5. I cannot begin to describe how upsetting it is for me to see that book on the list of banned books. In this book, Twain creates one of the most important scenes in American literature that, like "To Kill a Mockingbird," made people uncomfortable because they had to examine their view on race and in turn their identity during a time where blacks were treated as animals or less than such. When Huck, who is white, says he would be willing to suffer eternal damnation in order to save Jim, a runaway slave, the idea of racism itself lost a little bit of ground. The power of words cannot be underestimated, and yes, they have the ability to destroy as well as create. But banning books, a collection of words by definition, only tears away at the edifice of knowledge. And if fighting for the right of novelists to publish whatever they wish without fear of being banned means I'm going to hell. . . All right 'den, I'll go to hell.

----- Contact Jeff Jeffrey at editor@lsureveille.com