“When we prohibit a book, we begin to silence our own history.” by Amanda Shaffer

For years, books have been banned due to religious, social, and political reasons. Numerous banned books have later been introduced as classics into the literary canon, such as All Quiet on the Western Front, Leaves of Grass and The Scarlet Letter. To ban these and other books from schools and libraries destroys the freedoms granted to us at birth. Books are a means of understanding our own history as humans. For these reasons, banning books are never appropriate in schools or libraries. When we prohibit a book, we begin to silence our own history.

Without books that test our opinions and ideas, humankind would be left dumb, unexciting and ignorant. Fear stems from ignorance, and banning books can only create fear. Language is what makes human unique, and we should not be in fear of our own uniqueness. This uniqueness is repressed the minute someone chooses what can and cannot be written or read. We close off the ability to think, comprehend and challenge. Language is a gift, because it not only gives humankind the ability to communicate, but it gives us the opportunity to challenge the society in which we live.

The reader determines the value of a book, not society. According to Roland Barthes, a writer is just a scripter of a text. The reader is the person who contains power for the reason that they bring the book to life and provide meaning to the book. Whether you agree or disagree with Barthes, he shows that readers have the ability to interpret books as they wish. Readers do not need an author, or in this case society, to give books meaning.

Being able to interpret a book is a small freedom we share, and this needs to be universal in the literary industry. No matter how offensive a book is to a certain group of people, other people should not have their eyes prohibited from reading it. Freedom cannot be granted to one author but denied to another. Books are a freedom of speech. It is the freedom of the author to write, and the freedom of the reader to read.

Henry David Thoreau once said, “Books are the carriers of civilization.” Books provide humanity with history, because they are the study of human thought and development. History school textbooks could not teach us what literary books offer. By reading literary books, we are opening our eyes to history. We are able to understand what one person felt in a single moment of time. We are able to comprehend the politics and philosophy of one culture by reading their literature. If we continue to ban books in schools and libraries, history will become dull to us. If we continue to ban books, we will be denying history.

Books are more than just bound sheets of paper. Next time you read a book and believe it should be banned in schools and libraries consider the history that surrounds the book – contemplate what it says about society.

“One, ugly, mother…” by Cliff Fazzolari

About ten years ago, in the middle of a crowded book signing for my book, Desperation, a middle-aged woman approached me with a well-read copy of the book. The pages of the book were highlighted in yellow. I was immediately impressed that the woman had read the story so closely.

“Do you have any idea how many curse words are in this book?” she asked.

“Quite a few,” I said. “One of the characters represents pure evil. It was difficult to get my point across by having him say, ‘Good grief.’”

The woman did not laugh. “This filth should be banned,” she said.

I remember feeling violated. She had missed the point. Who had appointed her as the editor of what was right and not right?

That day, I was totally against censorship in any form.

Fast-forward to a day some ten years later. My sons developed a real passion for the movie Alien vs. Predator. The movie was harmless enough, and trying to stoke their enthusiasm, I rented the old Predator movies staring Arnold. I had never viewed the movies and therefore had no idea what Arnold’s character said when taking off the predator’s mask.

The day after seeing the movie, my youngest son, Sam, was being ushered off to Catholic school. He was excited about the opportunity and my wife cried as she took a photo of her little angel getting on the bus.
Less than an hour later, we received a call from the school. Sam had called his teacher, “One ugly, mother...”

Children must be protected. Books and movies are often produced for a specific audience. Should ten-year old children be exposed to “The Catcher in the Rye?” Or Arnold using the magic word?

Do the children need to grow up so quickly? In this day and age, sex is sold with nearly every product. Bad language and risqué scenarios should not play out in the minds of the children. There will be plenty of time for such “filth” later on.

Yet as an author, I’m dead-set against books being burned in effigy. The people who need to do their jobs are the educators. If you’re unfamiliar with a story, don’t stock the book. If you haven’t read it, don’t guess what’s in there.

Parents also need to keep an eye on what their children are exposed to because it’s awfully difficult to explain to a kindergarten teacher where your child picked up the phrase, “One, ugly, mother...”

Cliff Fazzolari is a professional writer and prolific author. He is on the Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo PICU Parent Advisory Council. He currently resides in Blasdell, New York.