Censorship
..., which allows the citizens to have rights, but with censorship those rights are taken away. The American Library Association supports free speech and argues, “The freedom to read is essential to our democracy” (American Library Association 383). There should be no limit on the range of temperate discussion, or no limits on thought. Once again, Americans deserve Freedom of Choice. If a person’s desire to read a piece of literature is strong enough, then he/she will read it, even if it is illegal. This desire to read may cause underground or illegal circulation of literature. The circulation of illegal material could occur in schools or in public, as it did in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury; books weren’t allowed but people still had them and read them. Franklin D. Roosevelt claimed that even if we censor books they will never go away, “We all know that books burn, yet we have the greater knowledge that books cannot be killed by fire. People die, but books never die” (Wisdom). Once someone has read a book it is here to stay. The American Library Association sponsors Banned Book Week to make people aware of books that have been banned for containing violence, witchcraft, obscenities, sex, and many other reasons from schools and libraries (Banned Books Week). Worried and upset - Judy Blume, a children’s author, is extremely bothered by book banning especially since some of her titles are included in the list, “It’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written, the books that will never be read all due to the fear of censorship” (University Star). One of her novels, Forever, was banned because some felt that it contained too many sexual references (List of Banned Books). Children all over the United States know about Judy Blume because they can relate to her books and their simple themes. However, some people who feel they can speak for everyone are deciding that Blume’s books are inappropriate for children to read. Holbrook Jackson notes, “Fear of corrupting the mind of the younger generation is the loftiest form of cowardice” (Quotes about Censorship). Jackson’s point can be well taken that censoring books shelters children and takes away their abil...