As we’ve learned over the course of the
semester, censorship voyaged with colonizers to America. One such form of
censorship, banning books in public schools, has a rich history in the United States.
In 1982, the issue was brought before
the U.S. Supreme Court: Board of Education, Island Trees School District v. Pico. Resulting in a 5-4
decision, the Court deemed that the First Amendment does not allow the
suppression of ideas. In other words, public schools are not permitted to
remove books from their libraries simply on the basis of differing political or
ideological beliefs. Further, “the majority of the Supreme Court held that a
student’s right to receive available information could not be suppressed by
school officials who might disagree.”
If you were to survey the dusty shelves
of a public school library today, chances are you would find a collection of unassuming
novels. Although their presence may seem ordinary, certain texts are among the
most challenged books of all time. The Pico precedent is the reason these books
have a space on the shelf. Such precedent may seem mundane, but its importance
is unequaled. Let’s take a look at what life would be like without some of the
most banned books of all time and the invaluable lessons our children would
have been deprived of:
Hemmingway’s The Sun
Also Rises showed us just what it means to live a meaningful life – despite
despair, there is always hope knowing the sun will rise again. “You
can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another.” You don’t
get rid of a book’s message by removing that book from a shelf – the message
still exists, only in a different location.
Wright’s Native Son taught us the harsh consequences of fear. “People hate
because they fear, and they fear because they feel that the deepest feelings of
their lives are being assaulted and outraged.” People hate certain books
because they fear, and they fear because they feel that their beliefs and
ideologies are being assaulted and outraged.
Other than serving as the basis for the dreaded 10th
grade English essay absolutely no student enjoys writing, Golding’s Lord of the Flies taught us about human
desires – the rational and irrational parts of the soul and the consequences of
each. “Maybe there is a beast … Maybe it’s only us.” Maybe the beasts aren’t
the books. Maybe it’s only us.
Lastly, Harper Lee’s To
Kill a Mockingbird taught us lessons of good and evil, and the importance
perspective plays in our lives. Above all else, Lee’s novel taught us one very
important lesson I would like to leave you with: “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make
music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s garden. They don’t nest in
corncribs. They don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why
it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Books don’t do one thing but provide stories
for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s minds. They don’t nest vainly in
hollow shelves. They don’t do one thing but speak their hearts out for us.
That’s why it’s a sing to kill a book.
Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in
1982, censorship regarding books and First Amendment rights remain highly contested issues in modern-day courts. May
precedent continue to win out, and may these texts live on. Stare decisis: let the decision stand. Stare libris: let the books stand.
No comments:
Post a Comment