Banned Books- this week and every week

 I woke up about 4:30 this morning in the middle of a really strange dream. I don't remember it now, but at the time I couldn't get back to sleep. So like a dope, I scrolled through social media and stumbled upon an article on the top banned books of 2020.

Banned books. That idea is about as wrong as any idea I know. The free exchange of ideas is a bedrock principle to me. Books have an incredible ability to share ideas and, hopefully, make people think. Sometimes that's good, sometimes it's not, but who am I or anyone to tell people what they can or can't read?

 Now, granted, everything has limits. I can't support porn in elementary schools or Nazi propaganda. But for the most part, what other people want to read is nobody else's business. If a book is that upsetting to you, DON'T READ IT!

One of the books on the list is my self-professed favorite, "To Kill A Mockingbird." Apparently, it's been banned and challenged for racial slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a ‘white saviour’ character, and its perception of the Black experience.

Does her work evoke strong emotions? Yes. Does it use racial slurs? Yes. Can it have a negative effect on students and a negative portrayal of the Black experience? Yes. Does it have a white saviour? Yes. Should it be banned? Absolutely not.

Seriously? It's a 1960 book about the deep south in the 1930s. I rather doubt Harper Lee was going to create a mixed-race protagonist and refer to "African Americans." 

The beauty of the story is in how it looks at the racism of the time. I don't believe you can understand the pain certain words cause without understanding a bit of the history behind them. You can't understand the pain of one's history without the opportunity to learn about it. And in that is the power of literature- to tell a story and evoke emotions and maybe to educate people.

One of the ways I am likely to die is by protecting someone's right to share an idea that I hate. The very differences in the millions of literary ideas are part of the unique nature of literature. The same can be said of America itself. The differences in ideas are part of what makes America great. 

Maybe a book series about overthrowing the government should make this list! Hmmm...   

Banned Books Week – The 10 Most Challenged Titles Of 2020 - Writers Write