I read the Washington Post just about every day. Yesterday I read an article about a local mom who wants to have the Toni Morrison classic "Beloved" banned from her child's school district. She says that her son had to read the book in an AP senior English class and was given nightmares by depictions of bestiality in the book. I don't even know where to begin with this one but I'll take a deep breath and avoid resorting to name calling. I was an English major with my heart belonging to great literature. I wanted to teach high school English so that I could help challenge the next generation through the works of talented authors and I am a mom who is already concerned about challenges to the curriculum of local schools.
On the subject of banning books... books should never be banned period! I am against censorship (with very few exceptions) and my reasons are summed up by George Carlin... "Censorship that comes from the outside assumes about people an inability to make reasoned choices". I went to a Christian school where so many things were forbidden. We could read the "Lord of the Rings" because Tolkien was a Christian, but we weren't allowed to read Harry Potter because it was perceived as satanic although the themes were similar. Even as seniors, we couldn't watch any movie in class that wasn't rated "G". Even then there were exceptions... no "The Little Mermaid" because Ariel showed too much skin (I kid you not). I was so excited when I started taking college literature classes and got to read slightly scandalous classics that still rank as some of the best things I have ever read (Kate Chopin's "The Storm" and August Wilson's "Fences" quickly come to mind). If this mom wanted a permission slip system or something before books with difficult themes are assigned, that is perfectly reasonable but banning books altogether? This is not the 15th Century.
Another disturbing aspect of this story to me is her son's age. He was a senior in an AP (ADVANCED placement) English class. This means he was a relatively mature 17 or 18 year old. In a few short months, he would be on to the real world. I hate to break it to her, but the real world is full of disturbing things. We as adults, can't just get rid of something we don't like and hide away from it. Instead of discussing the disturbing subject matter with her son she wants to forbid other young adults from having their minds opened by the book. We can't protect our children forever from a harsh world, we have to prepare them to handle things in a mature way and to use critical thinking. I am also bothered by the fact that her son was only alarmed by the book's sexual themes and not by it's graphic depictions of the reality of the evils of slavery. This is your typical upper class suburban mom who is only concerned about the "evils" of sex and not by violence or the suffering of others.
Americans today have a bad habit of wanting to prevent other people from doing things that they disagree with. You are anti-gay so no one should be gay. You are anti-abortion so no one can have an abortion. This is not how a free society works. If you don't like abortion, don't get one but allow me the freedom to make my choices. Just because her precious little angel doesn't like the book does not mean that I don't want my son to read it. I want him to read and watch things that challenge his mind and prepare him for understanding the difficulties of the world around him. We as parents can not be there forever to hold our children's hands and we shouldn't.
