Essay on Book Banning and First Amendment Right

What is a banned book? A banned book is a book that has been removed from the shelves because of its content. There are many reasons a book can be banned, a few of those reasons are is it contains offensive language, promotion of a religious viewpoint, unsuited to an age group, and many more. Lots of people and organizations have and still attempt to ban books. Some organizations that have banned books are The Anti – Defamation league, The Christian Voters League, and The Central Intelligence Agency.

What is a banned book? A banned/challenged book is a book that has or is in the process of being removed from school libraries. Three reasons a book would be banned or challenged are profanity, sexually explicit content, and alcohol. There are others reasons a book could be banned, but those I listed are just examples. Also those are also reasons the book “Harris and me” is banned.

Many books have been questioned and challenged. Even as far as to banning them. But what exactly is a banned book and why are they banned? A banned book is a book that has been censored by an authority, a government body, a library, or a even school system. A book that has been banned is actually removed from a library or school system. The actual contextual reasons as to banning them is use of explicit violence, gore, sexuality, explicit language, religion, or dark times in history. On the non-contextual side of the reason why they are banned books are usually because with the best intentions to protect people, frequently children, from difficult philosophies and information. Teachers, or even more common adults, often censor books from

Stephen Chbosky once said that “[b]anned books give us silence when we need speech[, i]t closes our ears when we need to listen[, and i]t makes us blind when we need sight” (A Quote). Chbosky is correct because of the first amendment of the constitution. Books are sometimes banned because of the language that the author uses, which takes away the freedom to speech and press that come right from the first amendment of the United States Constitution. They take away the freedoms of speech and press by banning books because of the words and choices that the author decides to use in them.

Many conservative groups make the argument that the books that have been banned have material that is inappropriate, immoral or contradicting the beliefs they have ingrained in their children and/or their society. Book-banning cases usually concern the protection of children and their innocence, but all that is happening is sheltering parents trying to avoid an awkward confrontation with their child about uncomfortable matters. It is not only selfish, but also harmful to the overall education of their children. The touchy subjects of banned books contain issues that are part of everyday life, and for a group to attempt to censor this subject from younger society is almost absurd; these issues are not monstrous and the censorship of them not only shows prejudice but lack of respect. Others would say that it is the government’s duty to regulate these books. It is the exact

The freedom to read and express ourselves means that we shouldn’t allow the banning of books due to inappropriate material. I have gone to a private school all of my life and I have never experienced books being banned or taken away during school. I am thankful for that, but yet it is highly unfortunate knowing that some public school students did not have the opportunity to read some of the best books ever written. Amazing books such as Harry Potter, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Catcher in the Rye were banned from public schools and these are books that I love and would definitely recommend. I believe the banning of books is unconstitutional and deprives people of learning about the world around them; they also help us learn new ways of thinking and social skills that can be applied to real life.

Most of the books that are banned are usually challenged in school and libary. In 2015, nine out of ten most challenged books were diverse. The site We Need Diverse Books explains their and ALA’s defention of diversity:

I agree with Sarah Begley in “What The List Of Most Banned Books Says About Our Society's Fears” because she states how us as citizens have rights, and one of them being the first amendment which grants us freedom of press which prevents the government from interfering with distribution of information and opinions, which is why we shouldn’t be challenging or banning books.” We don’t get many challenges by diverse people,” she adds. In recent years, book challenges have peaked while religious liberty bills were in the news, she says. Some causes for for banning or challenging books may be religious reasons, the religious liberty bill protects us and our freedom. I think this statement is reasonable because people have rights which protect them

Our first amendment to the United States Constitution reads; Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the

It is reasonable for a book to be banned if it is just not suitable for children as in its mature content. But if a book is being banned because of a parent who does not like the book or thinks it is a touchy subject, then it is just not reasonable and there should not even be a discussion about banning it. “Parents who don't like specific books can have their kids "opt out" of an assignment without infringing on the rights of others.” (www.procon.org/headline.php?headlineID=005365). There is no reason for a parent to try to have a book banned because they do not like the content in the book.’’ Also, the parent can choose to have their child not read the book without having it banned from the whole school. Parents should censor their own child and not the entire

Book Banning in Schools Books are banned in school libraries every year. They are pointed out for having inappropriate content, which some believe should not be allowed to be read by students. Unlike in the past, people are allowed to argue against the banning of books as well as fight for it. There are many arguments for the banning of books, such as: it protects family values, parents must protect children from the offensive material that can be found in them, and there are legal standards for the removal of books. On the other hand, there are some that believe that students need bold books to further grow and mature.

So, for the people that wants every book to stay in the library even if they have terrible content, consider all of the things that could happen because of that. Book banning should always be allowed because of how kids act because of them, not knowing what is right or wrong, and talking to their friends about it book banning could be a new start at teaching kids to learn all of the good things and not about the bad, or worse things in life. Help make the school boards take down all of the books that don’t belong

Banning books is a practice that has been used all throughout history. It affects many people such as authors, religious groups, students, and other citizens. When books are banned, it limits the amount a person can read or learn about a certain topic. Banning books is a key component in the novel, Fahrenheit 451, as well as in society throughout history.

Anything forbidden continues to ignite our curiosity. Stories that are prohibited have a way of remaining present in society by people passing them down. Banning books should cease to remain because readers should have access to information since without it people won’t be able to reach their full social potential, future generations won’t learn from past mistakes, and readers will be able to broaden their perspectives on life to resolve world issues. Firstly, book banning is plausible for various reasons, one is due to mental health problems or a child’s molding influence.

As little as one might not want to admit -- reading is one of our greatest freedoms. Keeping that in mind, by limiting the books in which one can read leads to a sense of conformity. Adding to that, that puts a restrictive limit on the range and variety of inquiry and expression on a culture. The United States is a democracy. One of the