I don’t mean to sigh in exasperation or roll my eyes in annoyance but once again, 2022 is starting out with a list of banned books, most notably, “Maus” by Art Spiegelman which is a book about the holocaust. By all means, tell our students they cannot read it.
Maybe it’s not such a humorous thing and I shouldn’t find enjoyment in it, but it really is common knowledge that once you take something away, the desire for it grows to an almost obsession. So, while the “powers that be” think they are censoring the public from literature they find “unfit” for our children or the public in general, what they are really doing is encouraging them to go out and read it on their own. To that, I say thank you!
Famous author Stephen King is no rookie to books being banned having had at least four of his own novels on that list in the past. It’s because of him I have this attitude toward banned books. King has put it in a different perspective for me and I think that’s why my attitude about book banning has turned from angry to amused.
At one point when asked his opinion on the matter King said “When books are run out of school classrooms and libraries, I’m never much disturbed…What I tell kids is, don’t get mad, get even. Don’t spend time waving signs or carrying petitions around the neighborhood. Instead, run, don’t walk, to the nearest non-school library or the local bookstore and get whatever it was that they banned. Read whatever they’re trying to keep out of your eyes and your brain, because that’s exactly what you need to know.”
It is this very sentiment that sparked an engaging conversation with my 15-year-old about what “they don’t want him to see.” I agree with King, if someone is trying to hide it from you, it’s most likely something you need to know. My son is not an avid reader, unlike his mother, but as a teen, he also doesn’t like to be told that there is literature out there that “they” don’t want him to see. We discussed the idea of being able to think for yourself and make your own decisions about what to read and stop relying on others to choose what they feel is appropriate for you.
Now I know King writes mostly fiction and his books were banned for reasons such as violence and sexual themes, and those themes can be off putting to some, but all banning does is make the masses want to read it even more; so really, the jokes on them. Have we learned nothing from our past? You can only repress people for so long until they stand up and fight back for what they want. Like that petulant child, the more you take it away, the more they want it.
Besides, literature is an expression of art and often times is therapeutic for both writer and reader. When we ban books, we take away free speech, plain and simple. And in this country, that will only be tolerated for so long.
I remember reading Cujo when I was around my sons age. My oldest brother was a King fan and I guess he figured I would enjoy it because I’m an animal lover. I was hesitant to read anything by King because I knew of his stories and how they easily caused terror. But then, my mother warned me not to read it. In fact, she flat out told me that I shouldn’t read it because it would give me nightmares. That was all she had to say, don’t do it. So, of course, I did it.
Was she right, did I have nightmares? You bet I did, it’s Cujo! But something else happened too. That was the first time I realized I could become so engrossed by a book that the rest of the world faded away and I felt like I was in the story. Truth be told, that has a lot to do with King’s talent as a writer, but it also started a spark in me. Books became a passion of mine and it all started with one that was banned.
So go ahead, keep banning those books. As history has shown us, it’s a darn good way to get our kids to read.
