Congress shall make no law that abridges the freedom of speech, or of the press. That, is itself an abridged version of the first amendment. For two-hundred, and forty-eight years we have prided ourselves on the notion that the United States of America, and all of its people are capable, and willing to express themselves in which, and whatever way they please. This American ideal of freedom is so deeply ingrained in our society, that it’s essentially a part of our culture as a nation. So I ask you, how would you feel, if someone slapped duct tape over your mouth, because they didn’t like what you were saying. How do you think an author feels, when their literature is ripped from shelves. Would that be American? Would that align itself with the intentions of our founding fathers? No, no it does not, of course it does not. I do not think it is American to ban a book.
It took esteemed author George Orwell approximately two years and a half to write his novel 1984. Imagine yourself again, imagine yourself in an argument, and after sleepless nights, and countless shower thoughts where you spent hours dreaming of how you might respond to the other person, you finally come up with something, and right as the words leave your mouth, your magnum opus of the spoken word, someone again, forces your lips shut with gorilla glue. Thats what happened to George Orwell as his book was burned and banned in places like Jackson County Florida, for apparent ‘pro-communist’ sentiment, and sexually explicit material. A novel that was a response to the growing totalitarian powers at the time was silenced, because someone didn’t agree with it.
What about John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath that displayed the mis-treatment of mid-western immigrants during the dust bowl. Displaying their troubles, and the horror that they went through. That book was banned in our own Kern County because it told the truth about what was going on at the time. Pulled from the shelves for being ‘libel’ because the people it spoke out against did not like the fact that the truth was out there. However, I think that this wasn’t what the first amendment intended for America. While it doesn’t regulate small local governments, we should hold ourselves to that national standard. Practice the freedom of speech that we preach. Freedom isn’t selective, or at least it shouldn’t be.
While many modern book-bannings were to pull ‘political material’ from the shelves of school libraries, I think to a certain point, young adults should have the right to read about the real world, and their parents should be there to guide them through it. I simply think that the first amendment should apply to every facet of our society, not just the things we want it to apply to. If you think otherwise, I beg the same question; How would you feel, if someone slapped duck tape over your mouth.
