I grew up in a very liberal household, which makes the whole book banning issue something quite strange to get my head around. I've always been of the knowledge that reading is a good thing, regardless of the content. My reading habits were never controlled, I picked what I wanted to read without any outside influences. If there was ever harrowing or troubling scenes in what I was reading, then it never really fazed me, because books are supposed to be a reflection of things that happen in real life, so why would these things not be included?
To be honest, if baffles me that books are actually banned, it's something I can't quite understand. The thought that other people make the decision about what books other people can read is just mind blowing. I believe in freedom of choice, I believe in letting people make their own judgements and I believe in people having the power to chose which books they read, regardless of the content.
The power and joy of reading a book is a fundamental human right and I refuse to believe I have to confrom to other peoples views about literature. I refuse to let my reading habits and choices be dictated to me by others. I am my own person, I have my own opinions and i have the freedom of choice. I read Catcher in the Rye when I was in high school, this doesn't mean I cuss all the time. I love the Lord of The Rings books, and I don't have any kind of satanic thoughts. Books feed your mind, they are fountains of knowledge, and they should never be used as excuses. When books are challenged, it makes me want to say, if someone is going to act obscene, if someone is going to cuss all the time, they will. Regardless of what books they read. You can't censor peoples thoughts, so why censor their reading choices?
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YAY for growing up in liberal households, Carla!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you on book banning.
Thank you so much Carla for this post!!! You already know how I feel about banned books. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, I really agree with you. My parents have never stopped me from reading anything. If they would, I'd be furious. It's my own choice what I read. Violence and such has never bothered me, or made me a weirder person, more the opposite; reading about it makes me realize how wrong it is.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Amen to this post!!! I completely agree with you on this matter. I was never told what to read and what not to read (unless it was an assignment for school.
ReplyDeleteCarla-- BRAVO!!! I, too, was allowed to read anything I wanted and it helped shape my decisions in positive ways. Often, I chose not to act like that character for extremely valid reasons. Thank you for your UK opinion, too, where book banning is a default process like it is here in the U.S.
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