Banned Books Week 2008 Comes to a Close

Though Banned Books Week ended on October 4, there is no reason to abandon the fervor people seem to have against censorship!

People pick up books that have been challenged or banned during Banned Books Week, herald the freedom to read them, and at the end of the week, go back into their bubbles and pretend censorship isn't something that effects people every day.

According to Wikipedia:

According to the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, the United States is currently ranked 48th in the world in terms of press freedom. Certain forms of speech, such as obscenity and defamation, are restricted in major media outlets by the government or by the industry on its own. However, in general freedom of speech is considered an integral American value, as protected by the First Amendment to the United States constitution.

Despite this, books are challenged every year.  The challenges are rarely successful, but some think a challenge is just as dangerous as a banning since the damage has already been done.

Unfortunately, it's not just books that are censored in today's society.  People try to restrict music, art, even political thought.

Yes, we have the right to free speech.  And to promote that right, people create "free speech zones."  According to Wikipedia:

The existence of free speech zones is based on U.S. court decisions stipulating that the government may regulate the time, place, and manner—but not content—of expression.

To be honest, it makes me a little sad that free speech zones have to be created.  Despite having the right to free speech, people have to be given specific areas in which to practice that right.

This is censorship at work, ladies and gentlemen.  People are telling when when and where you can have freedom to speak your mind.

When you finish reading your book for Banned Books Week and put it back on your shelf, don't let your passion for free speech go on the shelf as well.

If we don't fight censorship and clamor for our right to free speech, it will slowly be sneaked away from us little by little until the only freedom of speech we'll have is the ability to say "No, thanks," when we're asked if we want coffee after dinner.

Banned Books Week

Remember when you were in high school and you read a book that had, at one point, been banned in schools and/or libraries?  I'm sure at the time you wished it was still banned so you didn't have to read it, right?  Surely you've grown from that, yes?

It's Banned Books Week.  The event runs from September 27 (which was Saturday) until October 4 (which is next Saturday).  During this time, you're encouraged to read a book (or more than one--why not?) that has ever been on a Banned Books List.

When I was first introduced to Banned Books Week, I thought it was more a memorial-type event, reminding readers of "those dark times" when books were censored/challenged.  I didn't think it still happened.  Sadly, it does.

According to the American Library Association:

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received a total of 420 challenges last year. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.

420 challenges may not sound like a lot to you.  Compared to the number of challenges/bans that have occured in the past, 420 is not a large number.  (In 2006, that number was more than 500.)  But we live in a nation where that number should be zero.  I won't get on my soapbox here (rest assured, it's coming), but do you really think a nation that claims to be free should be censoring books?  Then again, I suppose the people that challenge these books are the same people who blame school violence on the video games they let their children play.

I have to stop or I'll be off on a tangent.  Back to the important issue, yes?

Here are the ten most challenged titles in 2007 (and why):

1. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell (Reasons: anti-ethnic, sexism, homosexuality, anti-family, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group)
2. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (Reasons: sexually explicit, offensive language, violence)
3. Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes (Reasons: sexually explicit and offensive language)
4. The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman (Reasons: religious viewpoint)
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (Reasons: racism)
6. The Color Purple by Alice Walker (Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language)
7. TTYL by Lauren Myracle (Reasons: sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group)
8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (Reasons: sexually explicit)
9. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris (Reasons: sex education, sexually explicit)
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group)

I won't go into how I feel about the reasoning behind challenging these books (or challenging books in general) in this post.

The most common thing people do during this week is to read a banned book.  Great!  I'm a huge advocate for reading books others want thrown on a fire.  But there is more you can do!

The Banned Books Week website recommends:

• Fight censorship by reporting banned and challenged books.
• Educate yourself about book banning and challenging.  The ALA is a great place to start searching for information, but branch out from there. (Be sure to read both sides of the issue so you can make informed decisions about how you feel.)
• Wear a free speech button or t-shirt.

Many libraries and bookstores will be hosting Banned Book Week events.  Check their events calendars to find out what's going on this week, and try to attend events to show your support.  And, of course, read a banned book.

This week, I'll be reading Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.  What will you be reading/doing?